Distractions
by suburbs
Summary: Shane is surprised and worried when he receives a text from Caitlyn. Both of them are caught off guard by how it changes their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock_

_Author's Note: I wanted to try something new, and I had never done a Shane/Caitlyn story. When my best friend called to say that her father sent her a Christmas card telling her congratulations on finishing school and best of luck in the workplace (and she still has one semester left in her graduate program), I decided to let out my anger on paper. I'm running out of ideas, so I'm open to suggestions. Just no babies for awhile; I'm babied out. _

_Dedication: This is for __applepips16 who always reviews and is a genuinely kind person. _

Caitlyn had finally accepted that she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. She needed something to distract her, and so far television, books and pacing around her apartment mumbling to herself while she cried hadn't done the job. It was time for drastic measures. She flipped open her phone and scrolled down until she found the name she was wanted. She typed a message and took a deep breath before hitting send. She brushed the tears off of her face and waited.

Shane glanced down at his phone and was pleasantly surprised to see Caitlyn's name pop up. He hadn't heard from her in a few weeks. His surprise changed to worry when he read the message, "Up for a little fun tonight? I could use a distraction. Come over." That didn't sound like Caitlyn; maybe someone had her phone. He dialed her number and waited to see who picked up.

"So you in, rock star?" he heard a woman's voice ask.

"Caitlyn, is that you?"

"Yes, Shane, it's me," Caitlyn responded. "And before you ask, it was a genuine offer of sex with no strings attached. Are you in or not?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Do you still live at the same place?"

"Yes," Caitlyn answered.

Shane looked down at his watch. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

As soon as Shane walked through the door, Caitlyn reached up and pulled him into a fierce kiss. Shane froze in shock. Did she actually think he had come over to have sex with her? He gently pulled away and held Caitlyn in place. She looked pale and listless. Her eyes were bloodshot, but she didn't smell like she had been drinking. Shane would have bet a lot of money that she would've had to be drunk to send him that text. Somehow the fact that she seemed sober worried him even more. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong Shane. I wanted to have a little fun and thought you might be up for it. End of story."

Shane reached out, brushed her hair away from her face and looked her in the eyes. She flinched and pulled away. "Caitlyn, I know you. This isn't like you. Tell me what's wrong."

"God, Shane, if I had wanted sensitive and sincere, I would've texted Nate," Caitlyn snapped.

Shane took a deep breath and tried to ignore how much it stung to hear her say that. "Caity, just tell me what's wrong. Please," he added quietly.

The "please" seemed to work. She turned away, grabbed something off her kitchen counter and stomped back towards Shane. "You want to know what's wrong?" she asked through clenched teeth. "This is what's wrong," she said and thrust a Christmas card into Shane's hands.

The front of the card looked innocuous enough – a snowy hillside with a house and a sleigh. Shane opened the card and read the message inside,

_Dear Caitlyn – _

_Good luck with finals. Maybe we can get together before New Year's. _

_Dad_

Shane looked up at Caitlyn in confusion. "Didn't you graduate in June?" he asked.

"Yes," Caitlyn snapped, "With honors. And apparently my best friend's ex-boyfriend can remember that, but my own father can't."

Shane wanted to protest that he was more than Mitchie's ex-boyfriend. He liked to think he and Caitlyn were friends, but this was not the moment to clarify their relationship status. As he tried to think of something appropriate to say, Caitlyn moved closer to him and ran her hands up his chest. She stood on her tiptoes and spoke huskily in his ear, "So are you going to help distract me now?"

Shane couldn't control the shiver that ran through him when her hot breath tickled his ear. He closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of having her hands on him before gaining control. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her to him. "I have no problem with the idea of having sex with you, Caitlyn," he said. "In fact, I've thought about it more than I'd like to admit over the past few years. But I care about you way too much for it to be like this."

He held her tightly as he felt her try to pull away. He knew her well enough to know that she was embarrassed both by letting him see why she was upset and his refusal to go along with her advances. Kissing the top of her head, he asked, "Where exactly do you think you're going, Gellar?"

Shane loosened his hold on her enough to allow her to look up at him. Caitlyn's face was splotchy and her eyes had welled up with tears. "Could you just go now?" she whispered. Caitlyn was usually so strong; seeing her broken like this tore him up.

Shane shook his head. "There's no way I'm leaving you alone tonight. So how about I find some other way to distract you from thinking about your idiot father?" He looked around Caitlyn's living room before spying a collection of board games. He grinned down at her, "Monopoly?"

Caitlyn looked at him incredulously. She asked for sex with no strings, and bad boy Shane Gray was offering her Monopoly? He smirked at her, "Bet you an even thousand I can beat you. I'm a Monopoly master!"

"Shane, I don't have a thousand dollars," Caitlyn said wearily.

"Okay. How about I give you a thousand dollars if you win," he paused for dramatic effect. "And if I win, you go on a date with me."

When Caitlyn didn't answer, Shane let go of her and started rambling, "No expectations, I promise. I mean, I'm not expecting sex or anything. Just going to dinner with me. As a friend if you want…"

Caitlyn had fantasized about what it would be like to sleep with Shane, but she had never considered actually going on a date with him. As she thought about it, thought about how he had behaved since he arrived at her apartment, the idea grew on her. She finally cut him off, "Okay."

Shane looked at her closely for confirmation that he heard her correctly. "Okay?"

"Yes, if you win I will go a date with you." Caitlyn paused. "Actually, I'd probably go on a date with you even if you lose."

Shane grinned at Caitlyn. "Good to know." He placed his arm around her shoulder and led her across the room. "Now how about starting that game?"

Caitlyn couldn't believe how much better Shane had made her feel. As she sat at her kitchen table watching him set up the game, she was surprised at how much she really wished they were in her bedroom right now. Not because she wanted to be distracted anymore; she just wanted to be with him. She was pretty sure that regardless of Shane's expectations for their date, she knew exactly how it would end.

"You ready to lose, Gellar?" Shane asked.

Caitlyn smiled at him before replying, "Bring it on Gray. I saw a great pair of shoes at Neimans the other day, and after I beat you they'll be mine."


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock_

_Author's Note: I sat down to write the date and found I had to write this first for the date to sit right with me. Sorry it is sort of choppy and random._

Shane looked at the phone in his hand and muttered to himself, "You can do this. Just call her." If he wanted to prove to himself and everyone else that he was serious about Caitlyn, this was the first step. He took a deep breath and dialed.

"Hello," a woman's voice said.

"Hi, Mitchie. It's Shane."

There was a brief pause before she responded coldly, "What do you want?"

It was not exactly the greeting he had hoped for, but he decided to take it as a good sign that she hadn't hung up on him. With that threat hanging over him, he got straight to the point. "I want to date Caitlyn."

"Wait, my Caitlyn?" Mitchie asked incredulously.

Shane rolled his eyes. "Yes, Caitlyn Gellar."

"Why exactly are you telling me this?" Mitchie snapped. Shane ran his hand through his hair, already frustrated and the conversation had just begun. "Because you're her best friend, and if you tell her not to go out with me, she'll listen to you."

"Wait, are you actually calling for permission to date my best friend? Cause from what I've read, since we broke up you haven't had a great track record with women. Why should I trust you with her?" Mitchie sneered.

"God, Mitchie, this is Caitlyn. She's different than those other girls," Shane said as if he was stating the obvious.

"I know that Shane. I just want you to prove to me that you know it as well," Mitchie said. "Because as far as I can tell you've spent the past three years screwing around, and Caitlyn deserves better than being another notch on your bedpost."

"Stop it Mitchie!" Shane said forcefully into the phone. "You know me better than that."

"I did once, but the things that you've done, the person you've become… I don't know you anymore."

Shane was silent. This was going worse than he had imagined. How on earth was he going to prove to Mitchie that he honestly cared about Caitlyn and wanted to try to have a real relationship with her? He could only think of one thing to say that might convince her, and he had hoped to keep it to himself.

"I could have slept with her, and I didn't okay?" Shane said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Mitchie asked with obvious confusion.

"Last night she called me and invited me to her apartment with an offer of no-strings-attached sex. She was upset about some Christmas card her dad sent, and she wanted something to make her forget so she called me," Shane explained.

Shane could hear Mitchie gasp. "Did you go over?" she finally asked.

"I went over to find out what was wrong. I mean, for all her bravado, we both know Caitlyn's not a one-night-stand sort of girl. Something had to be really wrong for her to propose that," Shane replied.

Mitchie's voice trembled as she asked her next question, "Why didn't she call me?"

"I don't know, Mitch," Shane said gently. "She obviously wasn't thinking straight."

"What did you do?"

"I made her tell me what was wrong and gave her a hug, and then we played Monopoly," Shane stated.

"Monopoly? Is that some sort of euphemism?" Mitchie asked.

"No, we played a board game," he said before adding smugly, "and I won."

"Shane, do you promise me that you are serious about this?" Mitchie sounded tired.

"Yes, Mitch, I promise. Look, you know I don't have many people in my life I trust - that I know don't care about the fame and money. Caitlyn is one of the few. Do you think I would risk losing that for a quick, meaningless fling?" Shane continued, desperate to convince her of his true intentions. "Do you think I would put both of us through this phone call if I didn't mean it? Last night I realized how much I care about her and… I really want to be with her."

"Does she know?"

Shane wasn't sure what Mitchie was asking. "Does she know what? That I'm calling you or that I want to date her?"

Mitchie gave a small laugh before replying, "Either one. But I was actually referring to how you feel about her."

Shane paused for a minute. "She knows I want to go to dinner with her, but she doesn't know I'm talking to you. And I'm not sure she knows how serious I am about her. Seemed like a good idea to talk to you first. I didn't want to put her in the middle."

Shane waited for Mitchie to say something, giving her time to process everything he had already told her. She finally said, "Ask her."

"What?" Shane asked.

"Go ahead and ask Caitlyn out. You can even tell her I said it was okay. But if you hurt her…"

Shane interrupted her, "I won't."

They were both quiet, unsure what to say next. Finally Shane spoke up, "Thank you, Mitchie."

"You're welcome, Shane. I'm going to hang up now, so you can call her." Mitchie hesitated before adding, "I hope this means the old Shane is back."

She hung up before she could hear his response.

"Me too, Mitchie. Me too."


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock._

_Author's Note: I know, I know… you wanted a date and you got more talking. But really there is nothing left to write now but a date, right?_

Shane decided that it would be better to ask Caitlyn to dinner in person rather than over the phone. At the time, it had seemed like a brilliant idea, mostly because it meant seeing her again, but now that he was actually in front of her apartment, he wasn't so sure. What if she wasn't interested in him now that she had had time to think about it? Honestly, he couldn't think of a good reason she would want to date a womanizer like him. What if he had just bared his soul to his ex-girlfriend only to be rejected by her best friend? Then he would have to face heartbreak and the humiliation of his ex knowing he got shot down.

On the other hand, Caitlyn was the first woman in literally years who he had felt this way about. If he chickened out now, he would never forgive himself. The chance that she might be willing to be with him outweighed the risk of rejection, so he knocked on the door. The door swung open, and Caitlyn smiled at Shane and said teasingly, "Didn't your mother teach you that it's polite to call before showing up at someone's house?"

Shane started to respond, but then smirked as he noticed what she was wearing. "Nice outfit."

Caitlyn glanced down at her plaid pajama bottoms and old Connect 3 sweatshirt. Shane expected her to be embarrassed, but instead she grinned. "Thanks. Guess I got to sleep with Shane Gray last night after all, huh?"

Her reaction left him momentarily speechless. Caitlyn laughed and moved aside, waving him into her apartment. 'So Shane, what exactly brings you back to my place after only," Caitlyn glanced at the clock on the wall, "six hours?"

Shane laughed. "I came over to see if I could take you out to dinner tonight."

"Ah," Caitlyn said. "Come to collect your winnings, huh?" Caitlyn moved closer to Shane before asking seductively, "What exactly did you have in mind, rockstar?"

Having Caitlyn that close to him again was clouding his mind, and Shane almost stuttered as he answered, "Uhm, I thought that maybe I could take you out someplace nice for dinner and then we could go dancing. You still like to dance, right?"

"Look Shane, I don't need you to woo me," Caitlyn said jokingly as she slid her arms around his neck. "So how about we skip dinner and just pick up where we left off last night before you went all noble on me?" She leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips before pulling back and adding, "Which was incredibly sweet by the way." She kissed him again before mumbling, "And very sexy."

Shane almost lost control when Caitlyn began to kiss him; he really wanted to pick her up and carry her down the hallway to her bedroom, but that was exactly what he always did. Instead he gently pulled away from her and rested his forehead against hers. "Maybe I need to woo you," he said gently.

Caitlyn pulled away and looked him in the eye, misreading his intentions. "What?" she asked, obviously confused and maybe even a little hurt. Shane Gray was an infamous playboy, and she had thrown herself at him twice now, only to be rejected both times. "If you're not interested in me, Shane, just say so. You don't have to make up excuses. I get it." Caitlyn's voice sounded bitter as she turned and walked away from him. Silently she wondered what it was about her that made it so easy for the men in her life to walk away.

Shane groaned and reached out for her arm. "Caitlyn, do you think you could just stop talking for a minute and listen to me?" he asked. 'I'm trying to tell you something important right now, okay?"

Caitlyn nodded, but refused to make eye contact with him. Shane ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Can we go sit down?"

Caitlyn walked over to the couch and sat on the far end with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Shane sighed and sat down as close to her as he could without actually touching her. "Caitlyn, you probably know that I haven't had a real girlfriend since Mitchie."

"Really?" Caitlyn said sarcastically. "And here I was thinking that you had deep, meaningful relationships with all those bimbos in the magazines."

"You're supposed to be listening, remember?" Shane retorted. Caitlyn narrowed her eyes but remained silent. "Anyway, as I was saying, I haven't been in a real relationship in years. I haven't… I haven't treated the women I've been with very well." Shane gave a bitter laugh. "Let's be honest, I've been an asshole." He reached out and gently took hold of her hand. "I don't want to be that guy with you; you're different."

Caitlyn turned a little and looked at him, her eyes showing a glimmer of hope. "You're not rejecting me?" she asked quietly.

"No, Caitlyn, I'm not rejecting you," Shane reassured her. "I want to be with you. In fact, I actually called Mitchie this morning to ask permission to date you." Caitlyn looked at Shane in total disbelief. "Go ahead and call her if you don't believe me."

"Okay," Caitlyn said digesting the information that Shane had called her best friend, who he hadn't spoken to in three years because of her. "So what's with the wooing?"

Shane smiled, thrilled that she seemed to be letting go of her insecurities. He reached out with his free hand and brushed her hair away from her face. "You're not a fling to me; I want to be in a real relationship with you. And I figure if I want something different, then I need to act differently. So please let me do this. Just let me send you flowers and take you to dinner and… take care of you." Shane saw Caitlyn open her mouth to argue and cut her off, "Not that you can't take care of yourself because you can. But just because you can, doesn't mean you can't let me help out."

Shane took a breath and waited for her response, praying that she understood how difficult it was for him to be this open with anyone. Caitlyn stared at the floor in front of her, and he could almost see her mind whirling as she processed everything he had said. When she looked up at him, the smile on her face made his heart leap. "Mr. Gray, I would be honored to go to dinner with you this evening. Why don't you pick me up at seven?"

Shane grinned at her and leaned down to kiss her hand. "I will be here at seven on the dot." He paused before asking, "What is your favorite flower?"

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "No roses. I like happy flowers like tulips and gerbera daisies."

"Happy flowers – got it," Shane repeated. He leaned in and kissed Caitlyn's cheek before getting up off the couch. As he headed towards the door, he heard her speak again, "Shane, just so I know, how much wooing do you think you need to do before we get around to having sex?"

Shane groaned. She had no idea attracted he was to her and how much waiting was killing him. "I'm going to try very hard to make it through two dates before I ravage you," he responded.

Caitlyn smiled. "You're not available for lunch by any chance?"


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock._

_Author's Note: Please don't be mad, but this still isn't the date. __PaNcAk3s__ assured me that it was okay to take my time (thank you, Nicole). The good news is that I actually have a plan for the rest of the story, so the date will be next. This is new and strange for me because I never have a plan beyond the chapter I'm writing. I'm a serial one-shot writer (even my chaptered fics are really a string of one shots)._

_Dedication: To PaNcAk3s because she said she liked my two "filler" chapters and didn't mind me putting off the date._

Caitlyn wasn't sure if she was going to make it until seven. Now that Shane was gone and she was left on her own, she was overwhelmed by a flood of emotions –guilt, confusion, fear and something best described as sexual frustration.

She felt guilty that she had planned on sleeping with her best friend's ex. She felt guilty that she had hoped to go on at least one date with him without talking to Mitchie about it. That guilt was only compounded by the fact that Shane had actually done the right thing and addressed the issue head-on. Now that Mitchie knew, Caitlyn had to call and talk to her about it, and she really didn't want to do that.

Caitlyn hadn't called Mitchie after Shane left because she was so embarrassed by the fact that she had thrown herself at him, only to be rejected. Plus, she really wasn't sure he would actually ask her out, so why invite drama over nothing. Plus, she figured if he did ask, it would be okay to go on a date with him and figure out if it was going anywhere before bothering Mitchie with it. But deep down, she knew this was all just crap. Caitlyn really liked the Shane who had shown up at her door last night. She hadn't called Mitchie because she really didn't want her friend to tell her not to go out with him. And this fact made her a horrible friend.

This led to her confusion; she didn't do things like this. She was usually a very loyal, honorable person – not the sort of girl to hook up with her friend's ex behind her back. And why was she so drawn to Shane now? They had known each other for almost six years, and before last night she had never considered dating him. Sure, she had on occasion wondered what he would be like in bed, but even then she imagined a drunken fling, not a relationship. He had been sweet, but Jason and Nate were always that way; she had never wanted to be with either of them the way she did Shane right now. Maybe it was the fact that his behavior towards her had been so different from what she expected. He was being so caring and open with his thoughts and emotions; he hadn't even been like this with Mitchie. She remembered all the phone calls from Mitchie complaining how Shane never expressed his feeling verbally – how she needed more than kisses and songs. But Shane had been very clear about what he was feeling and what he wanted, and that scared her.

Was this all happening too fast? Was she ready to be in a real relationship? She remembered what happened with Shane and Mitchie, and she didn't want to be crushed like that. Was it better to just not get involved because you couldn't get hurt that way? All these thoughts and emotions were almost too much to deal with at once.

Caitlyn finally decided that she needed to call Mitchie and get things out in the open. She and Mitchie had been friends for too long to throw it away over a guy, even a guy as amazing as Shane had been recently. She picked up her phone, dialed and waited for Mitchie to pick up, almost hoping she wouldn't.

"Hey, Cait," Mitchie answered.

"Hi Mitch," Caitlyn responded. "Anything interesting going on?" She believed Shane when he said he called her, but just in case, she thought she would let Mitchie bring it up.

On the other end of the phone, Mitchie rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what her friend was doing. "Nothing much. Just folding some laundry. I may grab some coffee with Peggy later today." Mitchie paused for dramatic effect before adding, "Oh, and Shane called me this morning to ask permission to date you."

It was Caitlyn's turn to roll her eyes before adding nervously, "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I should have been the one to call you, and I'm sorry about that. I honestly wasn't sure if he was serious about the date idea. And… I should also tell you," Caitlyn couldn't believe how hard it was to say this next part out loud, "I invited him over last night planning on sleeping with him. I know that makes me a horrible person, and I can't tell you how awful I feel about it. I hope that you'll forgive me because your friendship…"

Mitchie cut off Caitlyn's monologue, "Caitlyn, stop. I already knew about the sex thing. Shane told me this morning."

"He what?" Caitlyn asked, mortified at the thought of Shane and Mitchie discussing her unsuccessful advances.

"It wasn't as bad as it sounds. He was trying to convince me he was serious about you. Didn't he tell you this himself?"

"No, he just said he called and asked you if it was okay to date me." Caitlyn thought back to their conversation earlier in the day. "To be honest, he didn't even tell me your answer."

"I said okay," Mitchie answered.

Caitlyn digested that information for a moment. "Did you actually mean it, or was it just something you said to get him off the phone hoping that as your best friend I would know what you really wanted?"

"Huh?" Mitchie said in confusion.

"Did you want me to say no, so you didn't have to?" Caitlyn asked simply.

Mitchie thought about the question and then said, "Before I answer that, can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, Mitch. Anything."

"Why didn't you call me last night when you got the card from your father?"

That was not what Caitlyn had been expecting. She sighed. "I thought about calling you or Nate, but I knew that you would both want me to talk about it. And I really wanted to just forget about the whole thing – a distraction. And you know Shane's reputation; I thought he would be up for it. I know that's not a good excuse, but I just needed something to block out how much it hurt."

"Caity, next time you feel that way, please tell me. I won't push you to talk if you ask me not to," Mitchie said. Then she moved on to her next question. "And now the next issue. I know how Shane feels about you, but how about you?"

Caitlyn whined, "Mitch, do I have to?"

"Yes, Caity. I need to know. And remember, I know you well enough to tell when you're lying," Mitchie replied.

"Honestly Mitchie, I'm scared. Scared that I'm going to get hurt ; that none of this is real. He was so amazing last night – totally different from what I expected. He was sweet and funny. And he's only been gone a few hours, and I miss him already. He made me feel special and wanted, which I haven't felt in a really long time, if ever" Caitlyn explained. "And I really want to be with him, but talking to you, I realize that if you need me to, I'll walk away."

Mitchie thought carefully before speaking. She was over Shane in that she no longer wanted to date him. If she was honest with herself, though, she knew that she still had some unresolved issues from their breakup; she still wondered why she hadn't been enough for him. Could she handle seeing him with someone else? Could she still be friends with Caitlyn if she was with Shane? Part of her wanted to say no, but she could hear something in her friend's voice that she had never heard before. Caitlyn had never had much luck dating; she had always felt like one of the guys. Even with her one long-term boyfriend, Caitlyn had always doubted herself. If Shane was able to make Caitlyn feel special, make her feel confident in his feelings for her, who was Mitchie to take that away from her? Somehow she would make it work.

"Caitlyn, I don't think this is going to be easy, but if you think that this will make you happy, then okay," Mitchie finally said.

"Mitch, do you mean that?" Caitlyn asked, her voice thick with unshed tears.

"I do, sweetie," Mitchie said with sincerity. "But we may need to have a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy until I get used to the idea."

Caitlyn let out a small laugh. "Deal! And I really am sorry Mitch."

"I know. Trust me, if anyone can understand the Shane Gray charm it is me."

"I remember."

All of a sudden something occurred to Mitchie. "He did ask you out, right?"

"He did. He asked me to dinner tonight," Caitlyn replied.

"So what are you wearing?" Mitchie asked.

"Honestly I've been too busy sitting on the couch feeling guilty to give it much thought."

Mitchie grinned. "Might I recommend that black dress you wore to my album release party. With your hair down and curly."

"I love you Mitchie," Caitlyn said, knowing it couldn't be easy for her friend.

"I love you too, Caitlyn. I'll talk to you later." With that Mitchie hung up the phone.

Caitlyn set her phone down before collapsed back against her couch cushions. She knew that Mitchie was hesitant about the idea, but she loved her friend for being willing to let her try this, for understanding how much she needed Shane right now. And he had obviously said something to Mitchie to convince her that hiss intensions towards Caitlyn were honorable. Eventually she would have to ask him what he told Mitchie.

Caitlyn's musings were interrupted when her phone beeped, indicating that she had received a text. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was from Shane. "Do you have any food allergies or preferences I should know about before I pick a restaurant?"

She smiled and typed back, "Nope!"

"I was thinking seafood, and Nate said I should ask."

Caitlyn's smile turned into a huge grin. He was actually putting thought into this date, and he was asking his friends for advice. It was sweet, which was a word that before last night she never associated with Shane Gray.

"Always a good idea. Anaphylactic shock can be a real mood killer," she typed back.

She blushed at his response. "Yeah, I want to be the only thing taking your breath away tonight."

Shaking her head in disbelief, she sent him a reply. "Cheesy much?"

A moment later her phone beeped again, "Only for you. See you at 7!"

Caitlyn put her phone back down on the coffee table, still smiling from Shane's texts. All of a sudden she realized that the fear, guilt and confusion were gone. Now she was just excited about spending the evening with Shane. And she was still sexually frustrated. But the little black dress Mitchie recommended might fix that problem.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock._

_Author's Note: Beware there is much fluff ahead. This is so sweet it may pass over into saccharine. I hope not, but maybe. And it's a little short._

For the second time that day, Shane stood outside Caitlyn's door fidgeting nervously. He was wearing the suit that Nate had picked out for him and holding a bouquet of pink, purple and yellow gerbera daisies, which the amused flower shop clerk had assured him were very happy.

He had started to have second thoughts on the way over; not about Caitlyn, but about the whole wooing thing. Was it a good idea to start off a relationship doing things that were so out of character? What if she fell for this romantic, sensitive guy, and he couldn't keep it up? Would it be better to set her expectations low and then surprise her when he managed to do something decent? But that had been his strategy with Mitchie, and everyone knew how well that had worked out. He took a deep breath and knocked.

He was briefly considering that maybe he should have stuck to one-night-stands when Caitlyn opened the door, rendering him literally speechless. She looked absolutely stunning. Her dress was alluring without being too much. Her hair was in soft curls that fell past her shoulders, and her make-up was enough to highlight her features without being over-done. She smiled at him in greeting, and he held out the flowers in response.

"Flowers, what a surprise!" she said jokingly before placing them into the vase that she had waiting, already filled with water. She turned back towards Shane before adding, "They really are sort of perfect, though, so thank you."

He nodded before finally blurting out, "You look beautiful."

She blushed and replied, "Thanks. You look quite handsome yourself. I like the suit."

Shane looked sheepish as he admitted, "Nate helped me pick it out."

Caitlyn laughed at that, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "I can't believe you told me that. Did Nate spend his entire day helping you plan this date?"

"Pretty much. I think he enjoyed it, though. He's a closet romantic," Shane replied. He looked down at Caitlyn's bare shoulders, running his hand down her arm before adding, "As much as I hate covering this up, you might want a sweater or jacket. We're eating outside, and I don't want you to get cold."

His touch made Caitlyn shiver. "That's a good idea. I'll be right back, and we can get going," she said a little breathlessly. Shane allowed himself a moment to appreciate the view as she headed down the hallway, telling himself he could keep himself in check for two dates.

Shane and Nate had decided on an intimate seafood restaurant on the beach, so he had called and reserved their entire outdoor section. The tables were set up in the sand, and there was only a low wall between then and the beach. The trees outside were covered in twinkling white lights, and there was a soft breeze coming in off the ocean. Shane pulled out a chair for Caitlyn and kissed the top of her head before sitting down next to her. Unsure what to do next, he picked up his menu and began studying it carefully.

After a few minutes of silence, Caitlyn finally observed in an amused tone, "I know it has been awhile since you've been on a date, Shane, but they're usually way more fun when you talk to your date."

He winced. "I know. I'm just a little nervous. How about you tell me about your new job?"

Caitlyn grinned, "I love it. I was a little afraid that maybe the reality of producing professionally wouldn't live up to my expectations, but once I got used to dealing with Rex it has been great."

"I've heard Riley can be pretty demanding," Shane said.

"The first couple of weeks were hell, but then Nate told me I had to stop taking things personally and just enjoy the job."

"Wait, Nate told you this?" Shane asked sharply. He hadn't realized that Nate and Caitlyn were that close. He was vaguely aware that they talked on the phone every now and then, but he didn't know she confided in him.

"Yes, Nate, our mutual friend who I have no interest in dating, so you can stop frowning now," Caitlyn said.

Shane blushed before mumbling, "Sorry."

Caitlyn laughed and grabbed Shane's hand before continuing her story. Once she was holding his hand, he was able to relax and just enjoy her company for the rest of the meal.

After dinner, Shane suggested walking down the beach. As they strolled through the sand, Caitlyn held her shoes in one hand and Shane's hand with the other. They were both silent, listening to the waves crash and thinking about their night. Caitlyn couldn't believe how hard Shane was trying to make the evening special, which was sort of amusing given that she just wanted to spend time with him; the rest was really unimportant to her. But he said he was going to woo her, and apparently he meant it.

Shane was analyzing how the date had gone so far; he thought they'd been having fun, but he was pretty sure the clichéd walk on the beach wasn't her style. He didn't have a lot of experience with date planning, though, so he had fallen back on the old standards – flowers, dinner and a walk on the beach. Suddenly an idea occurred to him; if he was going for clichéd, he might as well go all the way. He stopped and pulled Caitlyn towards him before whispering, "Would you like to dance, milady?"

Caitlyn looked up at him like he had lost his mind. "You want to dance on the beach with no music?" She glanced around before adding, "Oh, god, you don't have musicians hiding in the dunes or something, do you?"

Shane laughed and shook his head. "No, but I'll have to remember that for next time."

Caitlyn groaned. "There's wooing, and then there's corny. And I think you might have just crossed the line, Gray."

Now that she had presented it that way, Shane was taking it as a challenge. He leaned in to whisper in her ear, "How about you think of this as foreplay?"

She smirked up at him, "Dancing it is." She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. Shane smiled and draped his arms over her shoulders before resting his chin gently on the top of her head. They stood there on the beach gently swaying together with their eyes closed.


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock._

_Author's Note: This is a little random, but I needed to stretch out the time between dates for my post-second date idea to work. So bear with me here; there really is a plan. _

"You're what?" Caitlyn exclaimed.

Shane winced and held the phone away from his ear for a moment before replying, "Leaving tomorrow for two weeks on a promotional tour? I guess I got so caught up in the wooing thing I forgot. Nate just sent me a reminder."

"Isn't there anyway we can fit our second date in before you leave?" Caitlyn whined. Shane chuckled a little at her response. Caitlyn had not been happy with him when he insisted on keeping his two-date promise to himself. She had been fairly persuasive after their walk on the beach, but finally gave up exasperated after calling him a "tease".

"I'm afraid not," Shane said. "I've got a fitting and a photo shoot today, and we have to leave pretty early. And before you say anything or jump to the wrong conclusion, I'm not blowing you off; I just don't want our first time to be some quickie in back of the limo on the way to the airport."

Caitlyn sat stunned for a moment before saying, "You've actually done that, haven't you?"

Shane winced again. This conversation was really not going the way he had hoped. "Maybe," he said. "And hypothetically, if it had happened, it wouldn't be something I was proud of."

"Nice save, Popstar," Caitlyn said, clearly amused.

"Ouch," Shane said joking. "Downgraded from rockstar to popstar, huh? So, when I get back, we'll have that second date, okay?"

"About our second date," Caitlyn answered slowly. Shane's heart started to race. Had he managed to mess up already? He thought things were going really well.

He began sputtering, "What's wrong? Didn't you have fun last night?"

Caitlyn laughed, "Calm down, Romeo. Everything's fine. The date was lovely; I was just wondering if maybe we can tone if down a little. Take some of the pressure off both of us by doing something a little more casual. I'm not sure I can handle living in a romantic comedy all the time."

Shane let out of sigh of relief. "Thank God! I was having a hard time deciding between a hot air balloon ride with a picnic or a candlelight dinner on a boat, and Nate's about ready to kill me."

"Do you really want to do those things, Shane, or did you think you were supposed to?" Caitlyn asked amused by his response.

Shane paused to think about his answer, "A little of both. I like the idea of the big, fancy dates, but it was honestly starting to stress me out."

Caitlyn chuckled. "I certainly don't want to cause you stress. I want you nice and relaxed when I get my hands on you. How about we save the big romantic gestures for special occasions and try something like going to the movies."

"The movies," Shane said sounding horrified. He liked the fact that she thought they were going to have special occasions at some point, but he honestly couldn't handle the movies. Not even for Caitlyn. "I don't go to the movies unless it's a premiere."

"What, you're too good for the movies?" Caitlyn mocked.

"No, I like the movies. But someone always recognizes me, and it's creepy to try and watch a movie with half of the audience staring at you instead of the screen."

Caitlyn shuddered at the thought. "Got it. No movies. How about the old standby - take out and a video?"

Shane smiled at the idea of sitting on the couch with Caitlyn watching a movie. It seemed so normal; he couldn't remember the last time he had done that. Maybe a couple of months before things turned sour with Mitchie. "That sounds great. Do you want me to have it catered?"

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. He was totally clueless about how real people lived. "No, I want to call the hole-in-the-wall Chinese place near my apartment like normal people do. How about I take care of the food, and you pick a movie to watch."

"I can do that," Shane assured her. He liked the idea of a casual date because he knew that both of them were going to be distracted by what was most likely going to happen at the end of the evening. And Shane Gray, well-known playboy, was actually nervous about that. He'd made such a big deal out of it, that he was feeling a lot of pressure to make it meaningful for her. All of a sudden, he had an idea of how to make sure it was different from any other time he'd been with a woman. "Caitlyn, how about we eat at my house?"

"Uhm, sure," Caitlyn said, a little confused by the suggestion. "I've never seen your place."

"Excellent. Then we have a plan," Shane said. "And I'll call you while I'm gone. I can't promise it will be every day because things are crazy when we travel. But I will call."

Caitlyn smiled, once again caught off-guard by his sweetness. "No worries, Gray. I promise not to throw a temper tantrum if I don't hear from you before you get back. I know what your schedule is like."

Shane turned serious on her. "No, Caity. Don't let me off that easy. Cause I'm no good at holding myself accountable. If I say I will call you, expect me to call. Get mad at me if I don't do it." Then something occurred to him, "Unless you don't care if I call or not."

Caitlyn's voice was soft, almost tender when she replied. "I care Shane. I want to talk to you; I just don't want to be clingy and demanding. Not my style."

"I know; that's something I like about you," Shane said. "But honestly, I will call you."

"Then I will be expecting your call, and you will face the wrath of Caitlyn if you don't," she replied. "And I have turned tougher men than you into blubbering idiots when I'm angered, just so you know."

Shane laughed. "I don't doubt it for a minute, amd I don't want to be the receiving end of your wrath."

"You really don't," Caitlyn said fervently. Then she added playfully, "Hey, does this two date rule include phone sex?"

Shane just groaned.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock._

_Author's Note: I know that applepips16 was hoping for a little bit of smut, but I don't think I have it in me. Hopefully this will do, even though it is not my best work. Blame the headcold. Also, this is actually version two of this chapter. If anyone wants to read the completed, angstier version of this that I discarded, send me a PM and I will Docx it to you. The next chapter is almost finished, and he is back in town.  
_

"Hello, Beautiful," Shane said as Caitlyn picked up her phone.

She grinned at the sound of his voice. "Hi, Rockstart. Where are you?"

"We just got to the hotel," Shane replied. Then he added, "I got you something today. I'll have someone send it to you in the morning."

Caitlyn shook her head and said, "Shane, you didn't need to do that."

Shane chuckled. "It's nothing, really. Just something I saw at the airport that reminded me of you. It'll make you laugh."

"Well, I'll look forward to getting it." Then Caitlyn added, "But Shane, let me be perfectly clear up front. I want you; I don't need you to buy me things."

Shane smiled at her directness. The great thing was that he believed her, and she seemed to have no idea that saying things like that made him want to spoil her. "Message received, Ms. Gellar," he said playfully.

"Excellent," Caitlyn replied before adding, "How was your flight?"

"It was pretty productive. We worked on a few songs for the next album and sketched out some ideas for our tour set. Then Jason made us watch some bird documentary; Nate slept through most of it, and I sort of daydreamed while managing to look like I was paying attention."

"And what were you daydreaming about, Mr. Gray?" Caitlyn asked with a hint of amusement.

"Just some girl I know," Shane said vaguely.

"Really?" Caitlyn said smirking. "And what exactly was happening during this daydream?"

"Nothing I'm going to tell you over the phone," Shane said smugly.

"I'll tell you my daydream if you tell me your's," Caitlyn purred seductively.

"Not gonna happen," Shane answered. He liked the idea of hearing what she had to say, but he was working hard at not objectifying her; that wouldn't help his cause.

"Hey, wait, are you saying you're really not going to tell me?" Caitlyn replied sounding a little offended.

"Relax, Caity. I'd just rather wait and actually show you in person. I'm not that great with words."

"You write songs for a living," Caitlyn said incredulously. "What do you mean you're not good with words?" Shane glanced over at the partially completed song on his desk. "I'm starting to get a complex here. Are you sure you're attracted to me?" Caitlyn said it jokingly, but Shane could sense her genuine insecurity behind the jest.

"Caitlyn Gellar, you have nothing to worry about in that department. You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. They are like deep pools of warm chocolate. And your curls are adorable; they look so soft, and it takes a lot of self-control not to reach over and play with them whenever I'm near you. And you absolutely kill me with your dancer's body – you're both graceful and sensual whenever you move. And when I close my eyes, I can still feel your lips on mine which does some amazing things to my body. Even hearing your voice turns me on," Shane said huskily.

He could hear Caitlyn swallow on the other end of the phone. "Does that clear anything up for you?" he asked. When she still didn't reply, he asked, "Did I render you speechless, Gellar?"

"How long before you're back?" she finally muttered.

Shane laughed. "Thirteen days."

This time it was Caitlyn's turn to groan.

Two days after their phone conversation, Caitlyn received a package in the mail. She burst out laughing when she opened the envelope to find a t-shirt emblazoned with "New York is for Lovers".


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or any movie mentioned in this chapter._

_Author's Note: Here is the second date. You're just going to have to imagine what happens after because the next chapter picks up in the morning. _

_Dedication: So this chapter is for __MissNata13__ who reviewed 14 of my stories in 24 hours. It was so much fun to get reviews on old stories. So thank you. And thank you as well to __SoTotallyCliche__, LittleRedOne, __gypsyeyes91__, __Wake-up Soon__, __applepips16__ and __PaNcAk3s__ for reviewing the past few chapters._

Caitlyn fidgeted on Shane's doorstep, wondering if he ever felt this nervous standing outside her door. It was tempting to just keep reflecting on this question as a way of putting off actually signaling that she had arrived, but the bags were starting to get heavy and there was always a chance that the paparazzi were lurking somewhere nearby. So she stuck out her elbow and used it to press the doorbell. Shane answered the door so quickly that she suspected he had been hovering in the entryway waiting for her.

"Hi," she said breathlessly as she peered over the bags.

"Hi," he responded softly before registering she was standing there with both arms full. "Oh, let me take that!" He reached out and took the two large bags from her hands. "Think you got enough food?" he joked. "There are only two of us eating here tonight, right?"

"Shut up, Gray," she replied as she walked into the house. "One bag has dinner and the other has snacks for the movie."

"Wait," Shane said with confusion, "we're actually watching the movie?"

Caitlyn looked at him equally confused, "Wasn't that the plan?"

"I thought the movie was just going to be background noise," Shane said.

"What?" Caitlyn asked, still not clear what he was talking about.

Shane shook his head. "Never mind." He looked carefully at Caitlyn and grinned. "Nice shirt, by the way."

She blushed and said, "Thanks. This awesome guy sent it to me last week."

Shane was absurdly pleased that she had worn the shirt. He turned and headed to the kitchen so he could set the bags down. As soon as his hands were free, he turned and reached for her, putting one hand around her waist to draw her closer. He bent down and kissed her gently. It was a fairly chaste kiss, but when he pulled away, Caitlyn felt like her knees had turned to jelly. Shane expected her to make some sort of move next, maybe a suggestive comment or a fiery kiss in return. Instead she just smiled shyly at him. Her reaction was so unexpected; he couldn't help but ask, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, blushing as she responded, "That's just the first time you ever kissed me."

He looked at her quizzically, "I remember some pretty heated kisses a few weeks ago, Caity. Did you forget already?"

She shook her head. "Those times I kissed you." She shrugged before adding, "This was just … different."

This was a side of Caitlyn that Shane had never seen before, and he found it endearing. He reached out once again and drew her towards him, wrapping his arms around her. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "For the record, I plan on kissing you a lot in the future. Is that okay?"

She nodded and hid her face in his chest, embarrassed to be acting like a school girl with a crush. He kissed the top of her head and stood for a moment just holding her. Her grumbling stomach finally broke the spell. Shane pulled away and asked, "Hungry?"

Caitlyn laughed, "I'm starving actually. It took a lot of self-control not to sneak an egg roll on the way over."

"I'll go get some plates. What do you want to drink?" Shane asked moving towards the refrigerator.

"Water is fine," Caitlyn said as she glanced around Shane's house for the first time. It was sparse, without a lot of personal touches – a large TV and entertainment system, a brown leather couch, two green arm chairs and a coffee table. It looked like it had hardly been lived in.

"I have some movie choices on the coffee table," Shane said while he pulled two plates out of the cupboard near the sink. Caitlyn walked over to the coffee table and burst out laughing at the DVDs she found.

"Please tell me you're kidding," Caitlyn said, holding up _Titanic_ and _The Notebook_.

"What?" Shane said sheepishly. "Nate and Jason said girls love those movies."

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow. "And do I strike you as most girls?" She asked.

Shane laughed and shook his head. "There are other options in the cabinet by the television." Caitlyn headed over to the entertainment system and searched through Shane's movie collection. She squealed as she held up _Casino Royale_. "Can we watch this one? I couldn't get anyone to go with me when it came out."

"Sure," he said. If he was actually going to have to watch a movie instead of making out on the couch like he had expected, that was an excellent choice. "Can we eat dinner in front of the movie?" he asked.

She grinned. "Sure, as long as you don't mind us eating in your family room." She looked around again. "It's spotless in here. I'm afraid I might spill something."

Shane glanced around, "Yeah, I'm not here that much." He took a deep breath; this was the perfect opportunity to let her know why they were at his place. He could just drop it into casual conversation without making too big of a deal about it in case it didn't mean as much to her as it did to him. "Besides my folk, Nate and Jason, you're the first person I've had over."

Caitlyn's head shot up when he said this, a questioning look in her eyes. "How long have you lived here?" she asked cautiously.

Shane looked her in the eyes from across the kitchen, a small smile on his face. "A little over a year." He watched her as she processed what he had just said. Somehow she managed to look confused and hopeful at the same time. He added, "Go ahead and ask, Caitlyn."

"So you've never…" she bit her lip and hesitated before adding, "brought anyone back here?"

"Assuming that we don't count my mom, you're the only woman I've invited to my house," Shane said without breaking eye contact with Caitlyn. Caitlyn's eyes widened and a huge smile lit up her face. She dropped the movie onto the table and walked across the room towards Shane, throwing her arms around his neck when she reached him. "Are you trying to turn me into mush, Shane?" she asked shakily. "Cause if you are, that worked." She kissed him deeply before pulling away and whispering, "Thank you."

Shane hugged her to him for the second time that night. He was surprised at how well things had gone so far and was more than a little afraid that he was going to screw up somehow. Caitlyn's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "How about I help you serve dinner, so we can get this date started?" she said.

"Sounds good," he replied. Caitlyn piled huge amounts of Chinese takeout onto two plates while he watched, amused. "How do you stay so thin if you eat like that?"

She grinned at him as she took her food towards the family room. "Good genes and lots of dancing."

Shane grabbed his own plate and followed her. He put in the movie before settling next to her on the couch. Once he finished eating, he put his plate on the coffee table and slung his arm across the back of the couch behind Caitlyn's head. She snuggled into his side without taking her eyes off the television. He wondered how on earth she was concentrating on the movie. After all her flirting and seducing, she was sitting on the couch touching him like it didn't affect her at all. He couldn't have that.

He leaned down and brushed his lips across her ear, smirking a little when he felt a shiver go through her body. "You remember that daydream I mentioned?" he asked. When she nodded, he continued, "It involved you, me, this couch and not watching the movie."

Caitlyn let out a shuttering breath. "I was trying so hard to behave myself; let you finish the second date," she muttered. "Be respectful of your crazy rule."

"Yeah, we had dinner and watched some of this movie. I'm good," Shane murmured as he began kissing her neck.

"Oh, thank god!" she exclaimed, turning in his arms, more than happy to make Shane's daydream a reality.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock, "Sorry" or "Hello Beautiful"._

_Author's Note: Merry Christmas! I've tinkered around with this a lot, and I still think that the transitions are a little rough. Hopefully it is okay. And if you have a moment, check out the note at the bottom._

Caitlyn was bored. They were supposed to be going out for breakfast, but Shane was taking forever to get ready. Definitely killing her post-coital high. She grinned as she thought back to the events of the previous evening and the feeling of waking up next to Shane in his bed. She could get used to that.

She eventually started wandering around the house to keep occupied, and the last door she found was Shane's music room. She entered and was immediately hit by intense jealousy; she could produce an entire album here. Glancing around, she saw sound equipment, several guitars and a very expensive key board. But it was the pile of papers on the desk that caught her attention. She hesitated before picking them up, eventually allowing her curiosity to overcome her misgivings about invading his privacy.

She gasped as she read the chorus of the first song, "I'm sorry for breaking all the promises I wasn't around to keep." She read the entire song before skimming the others in the pile. Her hands shook as she returned to the first song, realizing that this must be Shane's apology to Mitchie – the words her friend had desperately needed to hear for so long.

Caitlyn knew she had been presented with a choice. Mitchie was her best friend, and she had suffered since her break-up with Shane, always wondering how he had been able to walk away from two years that easily. It had colored all of Mitchie's relationships since then. Here in Caitlyn's hand was proof that he had cared and had suffered. But she would have to tell Shane she read the songs. And she would have to risk losing him because she violated his trust. Or because depending on when he wrote this, he may still want her best friend.

But really, there was no choice. Caitlyn had already let Mitchie down twice – first by calling Shane and then by not telling her about it. She took a deep breath, gathered the songs together and headed towards the bathroom. When she knocked, Shane opened the door and smiled at her, his hair mostly straightened, but the smile faded when he saw what was in her hand.

"When did you write this?" she asked showing him the top page.

He reached out and grabbed the papers. "God, Caitlyn, what's wrong with you? " He snapped. "Don't ever read my songs without permission."

She flinched a little at the anger in his voice, but she didn't back down. This was way too important. "Answer the question, Gray."

His voice was icy, but he answered. "Right after she ended it."

She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth in frustration. He was an idiot. All that suffering and angst, and he could have fixed it if he had let Mitchie know what he was feeling. Even though she was afraid of what might happen, she knew what she needed to say next. "You need to show her this."

"What? No!" Shane exclaimed. The last thing he needed to do was have some sort of post-relationship talk with his ex three years after the fact.

"Shane, Mitchie has spent years wondering what she did wrong," Caitlyn said her voice thick with unshed tears.

"You mean besides breaking up with me?" Shane replied bitterly.

"She did it as a wake-up call, and then you just walked away like it didn't matter to you; like she didn't matter," Caitlyn yelled. "There you were on the front page of the tabloids with some blond the next week. She's spent the past three years wondering if you ever cared about her; if those two years were all a lie."

Caitlyn stood a foot away from Shane, her chest heaving, waiting for his reaction. He stared at her in shock. "You need to show it to her, so she can move on."

Shane looked down. He had no idea that Mitchie had felt that way; he thought he was doing her a favor by making it easy on her. But did Caitlyn actually expect him to go bare his soul to his ex-girlfriend? Didn't she care how difficult that would be for him? Or was this her way of getting rid of him?

"What about me, Caitlyn? Do you care what I want or need?" Shane asked, his voice still bitter. "Is this a way to blow me off now that you got what you wanted?"

Tears began to spill down Caitlyn's face. She felt torn between what was best for Mitchie and throwing herself at Shane and begging him to forgive her. And it hurt to that he thought she was using him. "I care about you both," she said quietly, hurt evident in her voice. "And I want to be with you Shane, more than I'm willing to admit right now. It would just be so much easier if I knew that Mitchie was okay."

It bothered Shane that she had violated his trust, invaded his privacy, and put Mitchie's needs before his own, but his anger subsided a little at the sight of her tears. He should have known that being close to Caitlyn meant dealing with Mitchie as well; intellectually he knew that Caitlyn should be loyal to her best friend, but he wanted her to pick him. He wanted to come first. She had sounded sincere when she said she wanted to be with him, but part of him wanted to hold onto his anger, especially since he was right.

"You don't even need to talk to her," she pushed. "Just let her read it."

He closed his eyes to block out her pleading eyes and her face wet with tears. No one said being with someone would be easy. Could he do this? Was it even worth it? This was reminding him of why he had chosen all those meaningless flings – those girls never had the power to hurt him. He clenched his teeth and put his hand over his eyes. He could be hurt and angry and alone, or he could calm down and work through this with Caitlyn.

He felt a tentative touch on his arm and opened his eyes to find Caitlyn standing in front of him. "It's not a deal breaker," she said. "I'm not making an ultimatum. I just think it would be good… for everyone."

She was going to let him chose, and she wasn't threatening to walk away. He felt a weight lift off his chest. It was then that he knew for sure he wanted to make this work somehow, even if it was difficult. So he nodded. "Can I think about it?"

Her body visibly relaxed when he didn't yell. "Of course." She swallowed before adding, "I shouldn't have read your songs without asking. I'm sorry. So sorry, Shane."

He looked down at the pile of papers he was still clutching, shuffling them to see which ones she had read. The second song in the group made him catch his breath. "Did you read this one?" he asked her.

She glanced at the page. "I skimmed it; it's beautiful. But she doesn't need to read that one if you don't want her to. Just 'Sorry'."

He looked confused for a moment before realizing that she assumed all the songs in the group were about Mitchie. "I didn't write this one for Mitchie," he said. Thinking back to the previous two weeks, he let go of a little more of his anger towards her. Shane reached out with his free hand and stroked her cheek. "Look at the title, Caity. What do I say every time I pick up the phone when you call?"

Shane could see the moment that it clicked in her mind; her eyes grew wide and a look of wonder washed over her face. "You wrote it for me?" she asked, needing confirmation. He nodded. "Can I read it?" She asked.

He raised his eyebrow at her reaction. Most people wanted to hear songs, not read them, but he handed it over to her. He watched her as she silently read the words he had written about her, her eyes filling up with tears again. She looked back up at him and asked brokenly, "Did I just ruin everything?"

He sighed and thought carefully before speaking, "No, Caity. I'm not thrilled with what you did, but like you said, it's not a deal breaker." He smiled at her. "We didn't do too bad a job of talking through our first fight, so that's a good sign." She smiled back at him.

"So, did you like it?" He asked, referring to the song.

"I love it!" Caitlyn exclaimed. "I would have loved it anyway, but knowing that you wrote it for me, it is now my favorite song in the entire world."

"And you haven't even heard it yet," he joked.

"I'm a producer; I can imagine what it sounds like," she retorted. "But I would love to hear it."

"How about we go get breakfast like we planned, and then we can come back for a private concert. And we should probably finish the conversation about Mitchie with a little less yelling." Shane added with a sigh.

"Sounds good. All of it," she said sincerely. "You might want to finish your hair first," she said looking at the poof on the right side of his head. "And I might need a kiss or two for reassurance."

He laughed and kissed her. She instantly responded, putting her hand into his hair and pulling him closer. When he pulled away he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll probably let you show it to her."

She smiled at him. "I'll probably be very happy with you."

Shane let go of her and headed back into the bathroom to finish his hair, leaving the door open so he could talk to her. The discussion about Mitchie had triggered something he had been meaning to talk with Caitlyn about.

"Hey, Caity?" he said after he had repaired the damage she had done during their kiss and began on the last section of hair. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Okay," he heard her say. "What?"

"What does Mitchie think of Nate?"

The question caught Caitlyn off-guard. "Why?" she asked.

"Well, it turns out he's been harboring a crush for awhile now. He just didn't say anything before because of the friend's ex thing," Shane said. "But once he found out about you, he started dropping hints."

"What did you say to him?" Caitlyn asked curiously.

"That he's welcome to her," he said.

"Shane!" Caitlyn exclaimed outraged.

"What? He is."

"This is my best friend we're talking about, not a piece of meat."

"We're guys, Cait. We don't have deep discussions about our feelings. He knew that I meant I was over her and was fine with it if he wanted to ask her out," Shane replied peaking around the door at her.

"Are you? Over her?" Caitlyn asked earnestly.

"Completely and totally," Shane answered honestly. "So does he have a shot?"

Caitlyn shrugged. "I don't know. It's possible." She looked at him seriously before adding, "Maybe I'm not the best person to ask. If someone had suggested three weeks ago that we would work, I would have laughed."

"And now?" he questioned.

"I can't imagine anyone I'd rather be with," she said truthfully.

_AN: I've never done this before, but I'm asking for feedback. Would you like to read about Caitlyn bringing Mitchie the song (opening the way for a hint of Nitchie) or just skip over that and progress to the next idea I have for Shane and Caitlyn?_


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock._

_A/N: Just so you know, I hate this chapter. It wasn't what I wanted to write. I wanted unicorns and rainbows and friendship bracelets and hair-braiding. But for some reason, this is what I thought would actually happen. I struggled with it for three days in hopes that I could come up with a different way of doing it. It is the longest chapter I've ever written (and the longest, most pathetic author's note) because I wanted to get it over and done with. And Nate never makes it in for reasons that will be obvious. He is just going to have to be patient._

_I'm pretty sure you'll all hate it along with me (especially the people who liked Mitchie's earlier maturity). So I apologize. And in reaction the next one will probably be super fluffy or I will need to write a few one-shots because I am done with conflict. _

_Dedication: Special thanks to __Oo lovetoday oO__ (who used precious minutes of her stolen internet time to respond to my whining plea for help) and __LittleRedOne__ (who also graciously took time out to send me her thoughts on how this could go). Neither is to blame for the following chapter, but they get oodles of credit for being helpful and supportive._

Caitlyn was so happy. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she felt like this. After breakfast, they had gone back to Shane's house, and he had played the song for her. It was even more beautiful than she had imagined when she read it, and he had even let her record him singing it to her using his equipment. It was one of the trickier production sessions she had ever had because she kept grinning at him instead of concentrating on the recording. She was fairly sure it was going to be playing in a loop for quite awhile because she didn't think she would ever get tired of hearing Shane sing a love song to her.

She was currently in her car on her way to see Mitchie, which was a sure sign of her love for her friend because she really wanted to be back at Shane's. Being near him was addicting. When she arrived at Mitchie's, she grabbed her purse and headed to the front door.

She greeted Mitchie with a hug.

"Someone's happy," Mitchie commented dryly. She tried not to think too much about what was making her best friend glow. Thinking about Caitlyn and Shane still made her uncomfortable.

"I am, thank you," Caitlyn retorted. "How are you doing? Anything new and exciting in your life?"

Mitchie made an exaggerated "thinking" face before saying, "I'm starting a new music video next week."

"Excellent! Did they let you pick the guy this time?" Caitlyn asked. The label picked Mitchie's last video love interest. He had been cookie-cutter cute, and the two had had very little chemistry.

"Yes. They learned their lesson," Mitchie laughed. Caitlyn grinned in response. She hoped Mitchie wouldn't have too much chemistry with the guy, or Nate would be devastated. Thinking about Nate reminded Caitlyn of why she was there.

"I found something at Shane's, and I wanted to show it to you," Caitlyn said as she walked into Mitchie's family room, not noticing how Mitchie's body tensed at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. Caitlyn pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed it over to her friend. She had been so excited to show Mitchie the song, so sure that it would be helpful, so wrapped up in her own happiness that she hadn't planned out exactly how to give it to her. Her excitement faded into confusion as she watched her best friend.

Mitchie's faced paled and her jaw clenched as she took in the meaning of the song. Reading the words in Shane's handwriting brought back all the emotions she had spent years trying to forget: pain, betrayal, insecurity, and bitterness. They hit her so hard and so suddenly that she felt like she might need to throw up. It was like she was seventeen again, but it was worse because it was Caitlyn who had made her feel this way. Caitlyn, her supposed best friend.

"What the hell is this?" Mitchie asked angrily, tears flooding her eyes. The anger caught Caitlyn off guard. She was so shocked she couldn't think how to respond.

"I can't believe you!" Mitchie continued, her voice cold. "Coming in here happy and bouncy to show me what I lost. Are you trying to hurt me? Did you just want to rub it in my face that you have what I let get away?"

Caitlyn flinched at the words coming out of Mitchie's mouth. "What? No, Mitch…" she stammered.

"I don't want to hear it, Caitlyn. There's no excuse for this," Mitchie snapped. "You're either an idiot or a total bitch. Either way I want you out of my house."

Caitlyn stumbled, shell-shocked out of Mitchie's family room towards the front door. She almost went back when she heard a crash, but thought better of it when she heard Mitchie's sobs. She had done that, had broken her best friend. The sounds were unbearable.

As hurt as Caitlyn was, she couldn't leave Mitchie alone like that. Even though she wasn't sure what had just happened, she knew it was her fault. She had never seen Mitchie like that. Never heard her say such spiteful, mean things before. And she had been the one to cause it. Her brain still couldn't wrap itself around that.

She sat in her car with tears streaming down her face trying to think clearly. Who could she call? Normally, it was her job to help Mitchie; she'd never been the problem before. She needed someone sweet and loving and with no motivation other than being supportive. And there was only one person who fit that description. She reached into her purse and dialed.

"Hey, Caity. How are you?" Jason asked cheerfully.

Caitlyn wiped the tears off of her face and took a deep breath before saying shakily, "Jason can you do me a favor?"

"Are you okay? What do you need?" Jason said instantly, his voice full of concern.

"Mitch and I just had a fight. Do you think you can go over to her house and make sure she's okay?" Caitlyn said, holding in the sobs that were threatening to overtake her body. "Her door should be unlocked," she added.

There was a brief pause before Jason responded. "I have my keys in my hands, and I'll head over right now."

"Thanks, Jase."

"Caity, are you going to be alright? Do you need me to call someone for you?"

"No. Just take care of Mitchie," Caitlyn choked out. She couldn't believe how horribly everything had gone. She had just wanted to help, and somehow everything had spiraled out of control. What was she going to do without Mitchie? Because she honestly wasn't sure they were ever going to talk to each other again after what had just happened.

"Okay," Jason said seriously. She had almost forgotten he was still on the line. As Caitlyn started to hand up, she heard him add, "I love you, Cait."

She managed to mumble, "Love you, too."

At that point, Caitlyn wasn't sure it was safe for her to drive, but she didn't want to be sitting in her car weeping when Jason arrived. She hoped she could make it to Shane's house before she broke down. Her apartment was closer, but she needed him.

Pulling into Shane's driveway, she threw the car into park and shut it off. Slamming the door behind her, she stumbled towards the front door and knocked. It took Shane awhile to get there, and by the time he looked through the peep hole, there were so many tears streaming down her face she couldn't see clearly. He quickly opened the door, and as soon as she saw him, she sobbed, "You were right." She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest.

"Oh, Caity," he whispered as he pulled her inside the house. Usually he loved being right, but in this instance he would have given anything to be wrong. He wished for both of their sakes that showing Mitchie the song had been everything Caitlyn had hoped and imagined it would be; that it would have helped solve any remaining issues Mitchie still had and given Caitlyn a little more peace of mind regarding her relationship with him. But he had suspected that was wishful thinking on her part. He had warned her it might not go well.

Eventually he got her settled in his lap on the couch. He held her and stroked her hair, waiting for her to calm down and tell him what had happened. He worked out that Mitchie had taken it the wrong way and hadn't let Caitlyn explain. And there was something in there about Jason that he didn't understand.

"You told me it was a bad idea, and I didn't listen to you," Caitlyn finally choked out. She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. "You must think I'm an idiot. I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to see me again because apparently I'm a horrible person." A fresh wave of tears hit after she finished this pronouncement.

Shane noted that she was not above a little melodrama when upset, but decided this wasn't the time to tease her about it. Instead he used the pad of his thumb to wipe away some of the tears on her cheek and leaned in to kiss her gently. "Cait, I don't think you're an idiot or a horrible person. I think you meant well, and it just didn't go as you planned." He gave her another kiss before continuing. "And while I can't promise we'll make it forever, I can assure you that nothing that happened today makes me not want to be with you."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," he reassured her.

She sniffed before saying, "Okay." Then she gave him a watery smile and leaned back into his chest. He kissed the top of her head and just held her until she fell asleep, exhausted from all the crying. Once he was confident that she was asleep, he shifted her onto the couch, stood up and covered her with a blanket. He settled into an armchair nearby to watch over her and put the television on mute so he wouldn't wake her.

Several hours later, Shane was surprised by a knock on his front door. He looked through the peep hole and saw Mitchie and Jason standing on his front step. Frowning, he opened the door.

"Hey Jason," Shane said ignoring Mitchie's presence. "What are you doing here?"

Jason looked a little confused at the question. "I drove Mitchie here, so she could talk to Caitlyn," he explained.

"Oh, that's too bad because she can't talk to her," Shane said, still addressing Jason. Jason frowned and looked back towards Caitlyn's car in the driveway.

"Isn't she here?" Jason asked. "I thought that was her car."

Mitchie turned to Jason and explained. "She's here, Jason. Shane's just saying he's not going to let me see her."

Jason understood what Mitchie was saying, but it didn't make sense to him. Something was wrong and it needed to be fixed. He wrinkled his brow, "But Mitch, you need to talk to her. Why wouldn't he let you in?"

"Because I'm not letting her hurt Caitlyn again," Shane spat, surprising both Mitchie and Jason with his vehemence. Mitchie felt anger bubble up inside her, but she didn't get a chance to say anything.

"It's okay, Shane," Caitlyn said quietly from behind him, startling everyone. Shane turned away from the door, focusing only on Caitlyn.

"Are you sure? You don't have to see her," Shane said.

"I kinda do if I want to fix this," she said with a shrug.

He waited a moment before answering. He wanted to slam the door and protect her from any further pain, but he knew that Caitlyn would never be happy unless she was able to clear things up with Mitchie. He sighed before saying, "Okay. But Jason and I are going to be in the music room, so you get me if you need anything."

She smiled at him. "I promise."

Shane turned back towards the door and waved Jason and Mitchie inside. Mitchie had watched his interaction with her friend closely. Caitlyn had been very careful not to talk to Mitchie about her relationship with Shane after that initial phone call, so Mitchie hadn't known what to expect when she saw them together. Somehow she had not anticipated that Shane would be so protective and tender with Caitlyn. Mitchie was overwhelmed once again by a sense of loss. As if he read her thoughts, Jason reached out and placed his arm around her shoulder. She gave him a small smile to indicate that she was okay.

The four of them headed into the family room and stopped. Shane stood hovering behind Caitlyn glaring at Mitchie, and Jason still had his arm around Mitchie's shoulder. The atmosphere in the room was tense when Jason finally spoke up, "So the music room, Shane?"

Caitlyn turned and nodded to Shane. He leaned over and kissed her forehead before whispering, "Remember I'm right here." Then he turned and walked off, not waiting for Jason. Jason gave Mitchie one last squeeze and encouraged her, "Just remember what we talked about."

Mitchie smiled at Jason and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I will. Thank you again, Jason."

"You're welcome. I'm gonna go to the music room now." He looked at both girls before adding half-seriously, "Everyone behave."

Caitlyn and Mitchie stood awkwardly in Shane's family room, unsure where to start. Finally Mitchie sighed, looked down and pulled something out of her purse. She reached out and handed it to Caitlyn. "Here," she said hesitantly.

Caitlyn took the paper and saw that it was the song she had given Mitchie earlier that day. It looked like it had been torn to pieces and then carefully taped back together. She looked up at her friend questioningly.

"How about we try it again," Mitchie said gaining confidence as she spoke. When Caitlyn still looked confused, Mitchie continued, "Give me the song and tell me what it is."

Shaking her head, Caitlyn handed the paper back to Mitchie. "Mitchie, this is a song I found that Shane wrote after you two broke up."

Mitchie looked down at the song and pretended to read it, even though by now she had it memorized. She looked back up at Caitlyn and asked, "Why did you think I should see it?"

Caitlyn finally caught on to what Mitchie was doing. She was giving them a do-over to try and talk things out. She smiled at her friend and motioned for her to sit down on the couch. "Mitch, I know how much Shane hurt you when you broke up. You thought that he just walked away without a second thought," Caitlyn reached out towards her friend, and Mitchie met her half-way, grasping her hand. "You deserved better than that. You deserved to know that you and the relationship were important." Caitlyn took a deep breath before continuing, "And I think that because of how it ended, you've had trouble trusting guys. I just wanted you to be able to move on and be happy."

Mitchie sat quietly digesting what her friend had said. It was fairly close to what Jason had predicted, and deep down, it was what Mitchie had known Caitlyn had meant. She knew her friend would never try and hurt her, but the pain had been so strong, Mitchie had needed to hurt someone. And Shane, her preferred target, hadn't been there at the time.

During the silence, Caitlyn began to fear that her explanation wasn't helping. "I know it was a stupid idea," she said, her eyes welling up with tears again. "But I can't believe you thought I was trying to hurt you. I would never do that."

Mitchie gripped Caitlyn's hand tightly in response. "I know that Cait. Really, I do. I was just hurting, and I lashed out at you. All the pain and confusion just came back when I read the song. Everything I lost."

"I didn't mean for it to be like that," Caitlyn said honestly.

After a moment, both women blurted out, "I'm sorry."

They stared at each other before laughing. "I really am sorry, Cait. I still can't believe I said those things to you."

Caitlyn nodded. "I'm sorry, too, Mitch. I shouldn't have sprung something like that on you." They sat in uneasy silence until Caitlyn asked, "What made you decide I wasn't trying to hurt you?"

"Honestly?" Mitchie asked. "Sending me Jason. If you wanted to hurt me, you never would've sent me a big, lovable teddy bear to make sure I was okay."

Caitlyn laughed at her description of their friend. "I sort of wanted to keep him for myself, but I thought you needed him more."

"He showed up and hugged me until I stopped crying. Then he talked me through everything in that innocent way he has," Mitchie said.

Caitlyn interrupted, "Like he has no idea what's happening, but everything he says is dead on."

"Yes!" Mitchie exclaimed. "How does he manage to be so clueless and smart at the same time?"

Both of them paused to ponder the enigma that was Jason. "Speaking of the guys," Mitchie said. "We do need to address the Shane issue."

"I know," Caitlyn said looking down at the floor.

"Because from what I saw when I arrived, it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon."

Caitlyn smiled a little. She hoped Mitchie was right. "Honestly, Mitchie, can we still be friends if I'm dating Shane? Is it always going to be weird and awkward until we just drift apart? Or Shane and I break up," she added as an afterthought.

"It probably is going to be weird and awkward for awhile, Cait. And I can't say that everything is going to go back to the way it was, but I am going to work on it. I promise," Mitchie said sincerely. "Talking with Jason I realized I really don't want Shane, but I do want to have a real relationship again with someone. I just need to figure a few things out first, so I can be ready."

"That's fair," Caitlyn said. "But Mitch, I really don't want to lose you."

Mitchie leaned over and gave Caitlyn a hug. "I don't want to lose you either."

The moment was interrupted by Jason's cheerful voice, "Everything fixed?"

The girls pulled apart to see Shane and Jason hovering in the hallway nervously. "It was really quiet, so we got worried," Shane explained.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes at him before saying to Jason, "I think all fixed is a bit optimistic."

"But it's better than it was," Mitchie added. "So we'll take it for now."


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock._

_A/N: Thank you for the lovely reassuring reviews from the last chapter. I appreciated them. I hope you all do not suffer from whip-lash from the sudden tone change, but Caitlyn's life can't be all drama. Some days you just go to work. This is sort of a filler chapter. I know there is no Nitchie yet, but these things take time. Or at least they seem to when I'm writing._

"Are you free tonight?"

Caitlyn's head snapped up from her desk at the sound of her boss' voice. "What?" she asked.

"I need you to go to a party tonight. There's this new band I want to sign, and they're playing hard to get." Rex handed Caitlyn a flyer showing four guys sitting on the side of a bridge.

"And I'm going to a party because…" Caitlyn said.

"Because I want you to convince them to sign with us," Rex said. "Charm them. Impress them with your talent. Sleep with them. Whatever."

Caitlyn knew Rex was joking with the last suggestion. Sort of. He didn't actually expect her to seduce anyone, but he wasn't above suggesting she wear shorter skirts when it would benefit him. "Do I need to do all four, or do you think you could point out the decision maker?" She said dryly.

"That's the spirit. The lead singer is the front man, but from what I understand, the drummer holds all the real power."

"The drummer. Got it," Caitlyn said saluting. Rex handed her an invitation with the information on the party and turned to leave. He paused and looked back at her. "You look good, by the way. Did you do something different with your hair?"

Caitlyn laughed and thanked him for the compliment. It had actually been happening a lot recently. Apparently being happy and confident was sexy because she had been hit on more during the six weeks she'd been with Shane than the six months previous. She looked at the invitation and realized that she had three hours to find something appropriate to wear to an industry event and make herself presentable.

She reached for the phone to call Mitchie and then hesitated. Seven weeks ago she would have called Mitchie, and they would have picked apart her wardrobe options before going on an emergency shopping trip. Mitchie would have picked something too traditional, Caitlyn would have picked something outrageous, and they would have met somewhere in the middle. But now, Caitlyn didn't know what to do. They were more than acquaintances, but not comfortably best friends. Were they back to a point where she could call Mitchie up at the last minute and demand she drop what she was doing to help with an outfit emergency? Maybe not. And Caitlyn wasn't ready to make another mistake.

So she called Shane.

"Hello, Beautiful," he answered. She grinned.

"Somehow that never seems to get old," she said to him.

"Good to know." She could picture him smiling when he said that.

"I know you had some event to go to with the guys," Caitlyn said. They had already made plans for him to come by her place after he was finished. "It isn't a fundraiser for Music in the Schools, is it?"

"I think it is," Shane replied. "Why?"

"Cause Rex just came in and told me he needed me to show up there tonight. Do we need to discuss a game plan or anything?" Caitlyn asked. She and Shane had managed to keep their relationship quiet; only the important people knew – Nate, Jason, Mitchie, Connect 3's manager and publicist, and Shane's PA. The guys had learned the hard way that it was a bad idea to keep their team in the dark because it was difficult to do damage control when you have no idea what the hell the press is talking about.

"We should be fine, right? I mean we've been to the same parties before in the past," Shane reasoned. "Before we were dating, I mean."

"Excellent. Cause I was really confused there until you clarified," she said mockingly. "Are we still on for tonight?" Caitlyn added. She was relieved that Shane didn't expect any drama because the evening promised to be painful enough. If this band had multiple labels courting them, they were bound to be self-absorbed and convinced they were the next big thing. And she had to pretend to be fascinated. While wearing a dress and heels. A dress that she now had two hours and thirty-seven minutes to locate.

"Of course, though I might be forced to reconsider if you keep mocking me," Shane joked. He paused for a moment. "Hey, do you still have that red dress you wore to Nate's New Year's party last year?"

Caitlyn tried to remember which dress she wore that night, hoping she hadn't borrowed it from Mitchie. "I think so. Why?"

"You should wear that tonight," he responded, his voice a little lower than it had been the last time he spoke. "That was a very… memorable dress."

It didn't matter that the dress was over a year old or that she wasn't even sure if it was clean; Caitlyn would somehow be wearing that dress this evening.

"The red dress it is then," she said breathlessly.

The evening was turning out to be better than Caitlyn expected. She had no idea if the band had any actual talent, but they were a nice enough group of guys. And they all seemed to find her fascinating. She even got to talk to Jason for a few minutes, which was always a treat. She appreciated the fact that even after the Mitchie disaster (which is how she referred to it in her mind) he didn't seem to treat either girl any different. And she was pretty sure that the night was only going to get better once she got Shane to herself. This thought gave her a renewed sense of purpose. These musicians needed to hurry up and decide they wanted to work with her so she could go home and have her way with her extremely sexy secret boyfriend.

"Uhm, Shane," Jason asked carefully, "why are you glaring at Caitlyn?"

"I'm not glaring at Caitlyn, Jason," Shane snapped. Jason and Nate watched their bandmate stand clutching a cup of water in one hand with his jaw clenched. He was staring at Caitlyn, who was deep in a discussion about music with a tall blonde guy he had never seen before. The two men grinned at each other. It had been a long time since they had seen Shane jealous; he was usually the one making other guys feel that way. Shane finally blurted out, "Who is that guy and why is he flirting with Caitlyn?"

"His name is Tyson," Jason provided helpfully. "He's the drummer for some band Rex wants to sign. Caitlyn introduced me."

"And I would guess he's flirting with Caitlyn cause she's hot," Nate said winking at Jason.

"And talented," Jason added catching onto Nate's plan.

"And single," Nate said.

"She's not single," Shane growled.

"No, I guess not," Jason said thoughtfully. "But Tyson doesn't know that."

Nate was clearly enjoying the conversation and the effect it was having on his buddy. Nate was happy for Shane, but it was pretty fun to watch him squirm, especially because Nate knew Caitlyn had no interest in anyone but Shane. "Exactly. As far as every guy here is concerned, Caitlyn's fair game."

Shane turned and glared at Nate. "What do you want me to do? Announce to everyone we're dating? Should I take out an ad in _Variety_?"

Nate sensed that the conversation had taken a more serious turn and stopped joking around. "Calm down! I'm not saying that. I totally understand why you want to keep it quiet for as long as possible, but you also have to be ready to see guys hit on her."

"And it shouldn't bother you cause she isn't flirting back," Jason observed. Shane looked back over at Caitlyn and saw what Jason meant. Caitlyn was interested in the conversation, but she wasn't giving out any signals that she was interested romantically in the person talking; she wasn't touching him at all and her smile was nothing but friendly. Shane immediately relaxed and gave his friends a rueful smile as he said, "Thanks for talking me off the ledge there, guys."

Nate laughed. "No problem. Especially since we sort of pushed you right up to the edge first."

Shane gave Nate a light punch in the arm. "Yeah, don't do that. I'm bad enough on my own."

Nate looked at him shrewdly. "You really like her don't you?"

"I really do, so if you could help me not screw this up, I would appreciate it."

"We can do that," Nate said in response. The three of them stood quietly for a moment watching Caitlyn; she glanced over and gave them a questioning look, confused as to why all the members of Connect 3 were staring at her. They all gave her an exaggerated smile and waved. She shook her head and waved back before returning to her conversation.

After several hours, Caitlyn was fairly confident that she had won over the guys, so she went in search of new prey, specifically Nate. She needed to ask him for a favor; she finally found him standing in a corner talking to Jason about a text he had just received from their manager.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked.

Jason grinned at her and gave her a huge hug. "Save me!" he cried. "Tell Nate that we're not supposed to work at parties. Parties are supposed to be fun."

Caitlyn laughed. "Jason, isn't this party part of your job?"

"Thank you, Caitlyn," Nate said. Jason could enjoy himself anywhere, but these large parties were not Nate's thing.

"Traitor," Jason said in a theatrical whisper. Caitlyn gave Jason another hug to make it up to him. Pulling away, she said, "I wanted to ask you guys for a favor."

"Ask away," Nate replied.

"I have been working on a song for Shane, and I was wondering if you would help me record it."

"You want us to sing?" Jason asked in confusion.

"I think it might be weird if you guys sing him a love song. I was hoping maybe you would be my band," Caitlyn clarified.

Nate looked at Caitlyn in surprise before erupting in laughter. Jason and Caitlyn both stared at him. He finally asked, "Couldn't find any studio musicians over in your place of work? Or do you only sing with musicians with platinum albums?"

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "I'm not asking the international rockstars Nate and Jason; I'm asking my friends to help me surprise my boyfriend."

"I'm kidding, Caitlyn. Of course I'm in," Nate reassured.

"Me too," Jason chimed in. "I don't think I've ever heard you sing."

Caitlyn winced at the thought of singing in front of people. She had no problem performing; she just preferred letting the music speak for itself. "I can sing; I just don't like to," she added. She really wished she could have had Mitchie record it for her, but that would be even more awkward than Jason crooning a love song to Shane.

At that moment, the three friends saw a flustered Shane heading their way.

"Get me the hell out of here!" Shane announced dramatically.

"Excuse me?" Caitlyn laughed.

"In the past twenty minutes three different girls have suggested we go somewhere more private to get to know each other better, and I'm fairly sure the last one wasn't that insistent on the privacy part," Shane explained.

Caitlyn raised her eyebrow at him. "And what exactly were you doing to encourage these generous offers?"

"That's the weird thing," Shane said, clearly baffled. "I wasn't doing anything. I was just standing there wondering when I could leave and head over to your place. Think of all the energy I wasted in the past trying to be charming to get girls. Apparently I just needed to stand there looking bored." Shane turned to Nate and pleaded, "So can we go now or what?"

Nate chuckled and looked down at his watch. "I think we've all suffered enough for one evening. How about we leave separately, and I'll drop Shane off at Cait's place."

Before she could head out the door, Shane leaned over and whispered in Caitlyn's ear, "If you get there before me, don't change. I have plans for you and that dress."

Caitlyn felt herself blush before replying, "I was counting on it, Gray."


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock or Tiifany & Co. Somewhere I do have a blue box, though._

_A/N: This chapter was originally going to have Nate and Caitlyn working in the studio, along with a conversation about Mitchie. But I decided that the story needed more insight into Shane and Caitlyn's everyday relationship, so that got bumped to the next chapter. _

"Hi, Handsome," Caitlyn said as she answered her phone. There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Shane? Are you there?" Caitlyn looked back at her phone to make sure she had read the caller ID correctly.

"That's my line," Shane pouted.

Caitlyn smirked. "Technically, it was different. But I'll refrain from calling you attractive if it bothers you."

"What? No, I can share," Shane replied quickly, making Caitlyn laugh. "Anyway, I was calling because I sent a messenger over with a present for you, but I didn't sign it in case someone else opened it."

"So if I get an anonymous gift today, it's from you?" Caitlyn said.

"Exactly!" Shane replied cheerfully. Then, in a sudden change of mood, she heard him groan.

"What's wrong?" Caitlyn asked.

"Nate and our producer are arguing over a change in tempo, and the difference between what they each want is so minute no one will know the difference," Shane explained. "I think they do it just to drive me insane!"

"You are a little crazy, you know."

"Yeah, you're not the first person to point that out," Shane said.

"Any of them professionals?" Caitlyn teased.

"That's just not nice, Ms. Gellar. It might not be too late for me to catch that delivery guy," Shane joked back.

"Whatever," Caitlyn said dismissively. "Speaking of Nate… let's say I was going to be spending some time alone with him,"

Shane cut her off before she could finish her sentence, "Why would you be spending time alone with Nate?"

"I asked him to help me with a project," she quickly added, "for work."

"Why didn't you ask me?" Shane said sounding a little hurt. Caitlyn shook her head. He really was sensitive sometimes. And jealous, she thought. He came across as being so confident that occasionally she forgot how insecure he could be.

"I find it difficult to concentrate when you're around," Caitlyn said simply. "Don't have that problem with Nate."

Caitlyn could hear that he was pleased with her answer. "I am irresistible, aren't I?"

"And modest, too," she deadpanned.

"I'm going to ignore that last part."

"So can I continue with my question, now?" Caitlyn asked.

"Sure. Sorry," Shane answered.

"So, when I'm with Nate can I mention the Mitchie issue? Does he know that you told me about it?"

"Oh," Shane said thoughtfully. "I don't know. Wait a second." Caitlyn hear him yell, "Hey Nate, I told Caitlyn about Mitchie."

"Shane! What the hell!" Nate yelled back.

Caitlyn mumbled to herself, "My boyfriend is an idiot."

"What?" Shane responded to Nate's outburst. "She can't help you if she doesn't know. You should be thanking me."

There was a pause, and then Caitlyn heard Nate say, "Good point. But next time ask before you share my secrets with someone."

"Deal," Shane said before putting the phone back up to his ear. "So he knows. You can talk to him about it if you want."

Caitlyn was at a loss for words. If she had done that to one of her friends, they would have been pissed for weeks. Guys had no idea how easy they had it. "Caity? Are you still there?" Shane asked.

She snapped out of it. "Yeah. Thank you…I guess. So I'd better get back to work. I'll talk to you soon."

She had barely put the phone down when it rang again. Glancing at her screen, she saw it was Shane again. "Miss me already?" she asked, amused.

"I always miss you when you're at work," Shane said smoothly. "But I'm calling because I forgot to tell you something." Caitlyn waited for him to continue. "Next week is my grandmother's birthday."

"The grandmother who collects Limoges boxes or the grandmother with a crush on Frank Sinatra?" Caitlyn asked. She had never met any of Shane's family, so she kept track of them by whatever personality quirk Shane mentioned.

"The Limoges one," Shane replied, impressed that she remembered. Caitlyn waited for the point of this information. When he didn't elaborate, she tried to guess why he was sharing this with her.

"I think there's a store down the block that carries the boxes. Do you want me to pick one up for you on my way to your house?" They switched off houses each night, and tonight was his night.

Shane was touched that she would offer. "I was going to ask Leah, but if you wouldn't mind…"

"No problem. Leah's got enough to take care of; I can do it," Caitlyn stated. Leah was Shane's personal assistant, and she and Caitlyn got along very well. Caitlyn appreciated that the organized older woman kept Shane in line, and Leah loved the fact that Shane had mellowed since he started dating Caitlyn.

"Thanks, Caity," Shane said sincerely. "Anyway, my family is having a party on Saturday, and I was wondering if you wanted to come."

"To your grandmother's birthday party?" Caitlyn asked. Her surprise was evident in her voice, and Shane took this to mean that she didn't want to go.

"It's okay," he mumbled. "Don't worry about it."

"Shane, wait. I want to go; I was just surprised you asked. I would love to meet your family," Caitlyn said quickly.

"Really?" Shane asked.

"Really," Caitlyn said firmly. "But won't it be a little strange when you show up with some girl they've never heard of?"

"They know about you," Shane replied. Caitlyn was shocked by this news. She thought that Shane had only told Nate and Jason and the few people required by work.

"They do?"

"I told my mom about you a couple of weeks ago. She actually remembered you from the Mitchie period," he added.

Caitlyn groaned, and he clarified, "She was happy about it, Cait. She remembered Mitchie talking about how down-to-earth you were. It's all good."

Caitlyn sighed, "Okay. So I'll pencil in the Gray family for Saturday."

"Great. Call me when you get the present," Shane added.

Caitlyn smiled as she hung up the phone. Talking to Shane always put her in a good mood. She quickly added a note on the party and a reminder to stop at the store to get the present before focusing back on the stack of songs in front of her. She was making notes on a few songs for Tyson. She managed to get through two songs before a messenger knocked on her door.

"Ms. Gellar?" he asked. She smiled at him and waved him into her office. "Can you sign for this, please?"

"Sure," Caitlyn answered, signing her name on the electronic handheld device he gave her. "Thank you," she said distractedly as she began opening the package.

She pulled a robin's egg blue box out of the envelope. After untying the white ribbon, she pulled the top off and, after looking at the contents, burst out laughing. Inside the box was a beautiful sterling silver bracelet with a single heart dangling near the clasp. What made Caitlyn laugh was what was engraved on the heart – one side said 'naughty' and the other side said 'nice'.

She pulled the bracelet out of the box and fastened it around her wrist before calling Shane. As soon as he picked up, she said, "Thank you! You're insane, but I love it."

He laughed. "I saw it and thought of you. Because you are both."

"You just happened to be strolling through Tiffany's?" she asked.

"Their website, actually," Shane clarified. When Caitlyn didn't say anything he continued. "I just wanted to get you a present, and if I actually went shopping for jewelry it would be front page news."

"I know," Caitlyn said, looking down at her gift. "And you can't exactly tell people you were buying this for your mom."

Shane shuddered at the thought. He paused for a moment before asking, "So you really like it?"

Caitlyn wished she could see him right then because she knew he would be able to tell from the look on her face how much she loved the gift. "I absolutely love it, Shane. In fact, I'm looking forward to showing you just how much in a few hours."

Shane grinned at her response. "I like the sound of that!"


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock._

_AN: I don't know what to say about this one. The plot inches forward. The song Caitlyn wrote for Shane should be a little more clear to people. Nate and Mitchie almost meet. Yeah, not much happens._

"Hi Mitchie," Caitlyn said. Things were still strained between them, and she wanted to at least try and make some sort of effort to get things back to how they were. "I'm working at the studio this afternoon, but I thought maybe we could grab some coffee later. Give me a call back when you get this and let me know."

She sighed as she hung up the phone and went back to tinkering with the lyrics for Shane's song. Nate and Jason were meeting her at her office in a few minutes to start recording. She'd sent them a copy of the music, which they had loved, but she was incredibly nervous about letting them see the words. She had no idea how Mitchie and the guys did it; letting people read your songs was like giving them direct access to your soul. It was difficult enough when someone criticized her mixes; they were an expression of who she was, but this song was entirely different – it was Caitlyn Gellar exposed. Well, Caitlyn Gellar with a thin layer of sarcasm because she didn't really know any other way to be.

Her head shot up when she heard a sharp rap at her door. Nate and Jason stood in the doorway grinning at her.

"You ready to get started?" Nate asked cheerfully. He gave her a reassuring smile once he noticed how nervous she looked.

"Yeah, we practiced and everything," Jason said. His face clouded over for a moment. "But don't worry. We made sure Shane wasn't around, so your secret is still safe."

Caitlyn smiled at Jason. "I never doubted you for a moment, Jase." Caitlyn was happy to see a sunny smile return to his face. "Let's head over now. How about we record you guys playing first?"

Nate gave Caitlyn a knowing look. "Unless you plan on singing and working the sound booth at the same time, you're going to have to show us the lyrics eventually."

She glared at her friend, "I'm still working on the physics of being in two places at once. When I've given up all hope, I'll let you see the rest of the song."

Caitlyn grabbed the things she needed and headed out of her office towards the studio she had reserved. Behind her she could hear Jason whisper to Nate, "She's kidding, right?"

Caitlyn didn't even have to turn around to know that Nate was rolling his eyes as he answered, "Yeah, Jase, she's just joking."

Jason replied, "It would have been cool, though."

Caitlyn realized during the first take that Jason and Nate had indeed practiced. They played the music exactly like she had heard it in her mind while writing it. She had them play it two more times, more to avoid having to take the next step than anything else.

"Hey, Caity," Nate said to her after the third take. "We can keep playing forever, but if you want to give this to Shane, you're going to have to sing eventually."

Caitlyn glared at him through the glass. She knew he was right. At this point she was just wasting their time; she could go with any of the three versions she had already recorded.

"I'm thirsty," Jason piped in as a way to break the silence following Nate's pronouncement. "I'm going to go grab something. Can I bring you guys anything?"

Caitlyn shook her head, but Nate asked for a Diet Coke. He followed Jason out of the room and joined Caitlyn in the booth.

"So which version is it going to be, Gellar?" He asked as he slid into the chair next to her. "Personally, I liked option two."

Caitlyn looked over at him before responding, "As much as I would like to pick a different one just to annoy you, I agree. Two was the best."

Nate grinned at her. "So should I go in and lay down the drums, or are you going to let me see the lyrics?"

Caitlyn groaned and pushed the sheet music over towards Nate. He picked it up, scanned the opening lines and burst out laughing.

Caitlyn looked hurt as she reached to grab her song back. "It's that bad?"

Nate shook his head, "It's an awesome song Caitlyn. I'm sorry I laughed – it's just so you. I can't tell if you're insulting him or declaring your love for him."

"Can't it be both?" Caitlyn asked defensively.

"And I love the line about him being lost; that is so true! Jason and I won't let him drive anymore," Nate said chuckling. He kept reading before pointing to a line in the chorus. "What about 'never' instead of 'might not'?"

Caitlyn thought about the suggestion before nodding and handing him a pen to make the change. "It's not exactly what he said, but it sounds better," she agreed.

Nate looked up at her and asked, "So how do you plan to give it to him?"

Caitlyn shrugged. "I was thinking of having a messenger take the CD over to him when we finish."

"Caitlyn!" Nate said in horror. "You have to give it to him in person."

"I don't know, Nate," Caitlyn responded in frustration. "I'm not sure I can handle his raw, unedited emotional response. What if he hates the song? Or doesn't feel the same way? I'd rather give him time to craft a polite response."

Nate's voice softened and he reached out to take her hands, "Caity, he'll love it. He loves you. He might not have said it yet, but I know him. The look on his face when he talks about you or when he sees you enter a room; he loves you."

Caitlyn had tears in her eyes when he finished. She sniffed before responding, "Do you and Jason sit around practicing sensitive speeches? Cause you're both really good at it."

"Gee, thanks," Nate said sarcastically.

Caitlyn smiled. "Thanks, Nate. I sort of needed that."

"You're welcome."

"Now get your butt back into the studio and play the drums," Caitlyn ordered. Nate saluted before heading out the door. At that moment, Caitlyn's phone rang. She looked down and saw it was Mitchie.

"Hey, Mitch," Caitlyn answered.

"Sorry it took me so long to call you back. I was in a meeting. Are you still up for coffee?" Mitchie said breathlessly.

Caitlyn laughed at how frantic her friend sounded. "Take a deep breath, Mitchie. I would love to grab some coffee." She looked at Nate through the glass and made a decision. "Nate and Jason are over here. Would it be okay if they came along?"

Mitchie sounded excited when she replied, "I'd love to see them! I haven't seen Nate in ages."

"Great," Caitlyn said. "Then we'll see you in a few."

She hung up the phone and pressed a button, "Hey, Nate. Let's see if we can get those drums in one take. Mitchie is coming over for coffee, and you and Jason are invited."

Nate looked at Caitlyn with narrowed eyes. "What are you up to, Gellar?"

"I think Mitchie has had plenty of time to process. Just see how coffee goes," Caitlyn responded.

Nate looked skeptical.

"You don't have to propose, Nate. If things go well, maybe you can ask her to dinner or something. As a friend. No pressure," Caitlyn expanded.

"Cait, I'm not sure I'm ready for that," Nate whined. He hated being pushed into anything he hadn't had time to plan out.

"God, Nate stop being such a girl. If it's too much just sit there silently and drink your coffee," Caitlyn mocked. "In the meantime, do you think you can take out your angst on the drums?"

Nate rolled his eyes. "Why am I friends with you?" He asked.

"Cause I love you and only want what's best for you," she said sincerely.

He grinned at her. "Something like that."


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. And Sarah Vowell should get credit for the conversational black hole idea. _

_AN: I have no self-restraint apparently because I am posting this one on the same day I posted the previous chapter. Because it was finished. And for those who wanted to know, the song is "Trainwreck" by Demi Lovato. It seemed like something Caitlyn would write to me. The next chapter may take longer to write because Shane and Caitlyn are going to have to discuss FEELINGS._

_Dedication: This chapter is for gypsyeyes91 who sent me a review right before I finished the chapter. Thank you so much for the encouragement!_

Things had started out alright. Everyone had hugged when Mitchie arrived at the café, and Mitchie and Jason had happily chatted in line while they all ordered coffee. Caitlyn had asked Mitchie about how the video was coming along, and Jason had enthusiastically joined in the conversation. And Nate just sat there drinking his coffee like a conversational black hole, totally quiet.

Eventually Mitchie noticed his silence and became quiet herself, occasionally giving him worried glances. Nate wasn't the most outgoing of the trio, but he was usually friendly. She wasn't sure what to make of his silence. Caitlyn and Jason worked hard to keep things normal. Caitlyn was thankful Jason was there because she wasn't sure she could keep up that level of cheerful small talk all on her own. Jason finally got Mitchie talking about her mom's new restaurant, giving Caitlyn a chance to lean over and say something to Nate.

"Remember when I told you that you could just sit silently and drink your coffee?" Caitlyn muttered to Nate so that only he could hear her. "I wasn't serious."

Nate gave her a dirty look before turning to Mitchie. "Sorry I've been so distracted, Mitch," he said. He glanced quickly at Caitlyn who gave him an encouraging smile. "We're working on a song, and I'm still in studio mode." Caitlyn kicked him under the table to egg him on. He winced before adding quickly, "How about I make it up to you? Maybe we can go to dinner or something later this week?"

Mitchie's smile lit up her face. Her body seemed to relax once Nate began actually speaking to her. "That sounds great, Nate. Why don't you call me tonight, and we can make plans."

Nate grinned in response. "Great. I'll call you."

Caitlyn chimed in at that point. "Sorry to break things up, but the guys and I really do need to head back to the studio."

Caitlyn wasn't sure if Nate was going to thank her or kill her for ending things when he had finally started speaking, but apparently those six sentences had worn him out because he looked grateful for the exit strategy. Mitchie stood up and gave all three of them hugs before heading out the door. She turned back, smiled and pointed at Nate as she said, "I expect to hear from you."

He nodded and replied, "I promise. And I'll even talk."

Caitlyn was glad to see that he was loosening up around Mitchie because the past thirty minutes had been painful. As soon as Mitchie was safely out the door, Caitlyn turned and smacked Nate on the side of the head.

"Hey," he exclaimed.

"You're an idiot," Caitlyn said simply. Jason just laughed at them and shook his head.

Nate glared at them before breaking out in an evil smile. "I guess we'd better head back, so Caitlyn can start singing. I can't wait to hear her, can you Jason? I imagine it is going to take a lot of tries to get this song perfect for Shane." He rubbed in head before repeating, "Lots of takes, Caitlyn."

Now it was Caitlyn's turn to ask, "Why are we friends again?"

It wasn't a lot of tries, but it did take nine takes to get it right. Caitlyn was exhausted by the time that Nate gave her the thumbs up. "You did great, Caitlyn," he said over the loudspeaker.

Jason nodded his head and grinned at her. She gave him a tired smile back before joining them in the booth. Jason enveloped her in a huge hug as soon as she walked through the door. "That song is awesome, Caity!" he gushed. "Do you have more? You should think about becoming a writer. Or maybe even a singer. Cause your voice is nice too."

Caitlyn leaned into Jason, resting against his chest before replying, "Thanks, Jason, but I think I'll stick to producing. I don't know how you guys do it; I feel like I've been run over by a truck."

Nate laughed. "That must be the difference between being a performer and a producer because we're usually bouncing off the walls after a recording."

Jason grinned. "It's better than a sugar high!"

Caitlyn just groaned and clung to Jason for support. "Right now I want a hot bath and a nap," she said.

"What?" Nate exclaimed. "No way, Gellar. You've got to go over to Shane's and give this to him."

Caitlyn shook her head. "How about tomorrow? Or maybe next week?" She paused a moment before adding, "Or maybe I'll just hold onto it until the right moment comes along."

"And when will that be?" Nate asked. "Cause from the look on your face, I'd say your thinking about chickening out."

Caitlyn turned her head, still leaning on Jason, and glared at Nate. "This from the guy who barely managed to say ten words to Mitchie?"

Jason chuckled before intervening, "Calm down kiddos. Nate, leave her alone. It's her song. And Caitlyn, you have nothing to worry about. Just go ahead and do it."

Caitlyn pulled away from Jason and stuck her hand out. Nate smirked as he handed her the CD. Then he pulled out his phone and pushed one of his speed dial buttons. "Hey, Shane," he said.

Caitlyn's eyes got huge as she realized what he was about to do.

"No!" she said through clenched teeth. "Don't you dare!"

"Caitlyn's on her way over with a surprise for you," Nate said quickly before Caitlyn could grab the phone away from him. "Make sure she shows it to you!"

Caitlyn narrowed her eyes before taking out her own phone. "Hi Mitchie. It's Caitlyn. I just wanted to let you know how excited Nate is about going to dinner with you. He's been talking about it all afternoon."

Nate froze and looked at Caitlyn in horror. "You didn't," he whispered.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes and held out her phone, showing her address book on the screen. "I didn't. But I thought about it."

Nate collapsed into the chair. "God you scared me."

Caitlyn patted him on the head. "Don't mess with me, Nate. Cause you'll never win." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for helping me with the song."

"You're welcome," he said simply.

"You too, Jason." Caitlyn added, giving him a kiss as well. "I owe you both."

Jason grinned at her. "Good luck, Caity."

"Thanks. I'll need it."


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock or "Trainwreck"._

_AN: So I think that Shane is probably too perfect in this, but hopefully you'll forgive that. _

Caitlyn seriously considered stopping on the way to Shane's to buy him a pair of sunglasses to serve as his 'surprise', but then she heard Nate's voice in the back of her mind calling her a wuss. Jason would be understanding, but Nate would mock her for the rest of her life if she backed out now. So she was just going to have to go in and hope for the best. She knew Shane wouldn't purposely hurt her; she was just worried it might happen anyway.

She used her key to let herself into Shane's place and was standing in the entryway gathering her courage when she heard Shane call her name.

"Hey, Caity! I'm glad you're here," Shane leaned in and kissed Caitlyn gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer. When they broke apart he grinned at her. "Miss me?"

"Maybe just a little," Caitlyn admitted.

"So what's this I hear about a surprise?" Shane asked. No matter how much time he spent with her, he still never knew what to expect. He felt Caitlyn stiffen a little before she stepped back from him. She reached into her purse and handed him a CD.

Shane took the unlabeled CD and looked questioningly at Caitlyn. "Is this one of the bands you've been working with?" He thought a moment before looking suspicious. "This isn't that stupid boy band from the party, is it?"

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at Shane, asking in an amused voice, "Do you have something against boy bands? Cause that would be sort of ironic."

'Whatever," Shane said dismissively. "I just don't like those guys."

"Structural Integrity? I don't get what you have against them, but no, this is not them." She took a deep breath before adding, "It's actually mine."

Shane smiled at Caitlyn, "One of your mixes? God, I haven't heard one of those in ages. Let's go put it on!"

Caitlyn hesitated before correcting him. "No, not a mix. It's me singing a song that I wrote…" She really wished she had gone with the sunglasses. "I wrote for you."

Shane turned and looked at Caitlyn searchingly before reaching out and putting a hand up to her cheek. "Really? You wrote a song for me?"

She nodded slowly, careful not to dislodge his hand. "Nate and Jason helped out with the music. But it's not very good, and I'm not much of a singer. So it's okay it you don't like…"

Caitlyn didn't get to finish her sentence because Shane silenced her with a passionate kiss. He pulled away and said fiercely, "Don't do that! Don't sell yourself short like that."

His intensity shocked Caitlyn. Once again, she nodded. His voice softened as he continued. "If you aren't ready to let me hear it, that's okay. The fact that you tried something new for me is a nice surprise. But I'd love to hear it."

She shook her head in disbelief. "Honestly, how did you do that? That had to be the most perfect thing you could have said."

Shane let out a breath he had been holding while he waited for her to respond. "Thank god. This sort of felt like a test, and I was scared I was going to mess up."

Caitlyn laughed, "It wasn't a test, but if it had been, you'd have passed with flying colors."

She looked at Shane carefully before coming to a decision – he deserved to hear the song and know how she felt. She took the CD from him and walked into the family room, and he followed her, curious to see what she was going to do. He started to grin when he saw her insert the CD into his sound system. He knew better than to try to force Caitlyn into anything, but he really wanted to hear his song. She wasn't as verbally expressive as most women he knew, and he desperately wanted to know what she had to say.

Even though Caitlyn wanted to share the song with Shane, she still stood stiffly off to the side after she pushed play. Before the song had even started, Shane used the remote control to put it on pause. He raised his eyebrow at her and beckoned her over with his finger. She rolled her eyes at him but made her way over towards the couch. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down onto his lap.

"Comfy," he asked. At first Caitlyn sat stiffly, perched on his lap, but it didn't take long for her to see the advantage in her new position – she didn't have to look at his face while he listened. She turned and snuggled against him, with her face buried into his chest.

"Okay," she said. "I'm ready now."

She felt him kiss the top of her head and then heard her song begin. She instinctively tensed at the sound of her own voice, and Shane rubbed her back. He let out a short laugh at the mention of his tendency to get lost, making her smile into his shirt. He didn't say anything, but his arms tightened around her the first time her heard the chorus, "The things you say, make me fall harder each day."

As the last line in the song ended, Shane leaned down and whispered into her ear, "That was amazing, Caity. Thank you."

Caitlyn could hear the emotion in his voice and knew he was truly touched. She was relieved that he had enjoyed it, but she couldn't deny that she was disappointed that he hadn't told her he loved her. Because the song had made her feelings crystal clear.

"I'm glad you liked it," she said quietly.

"I more than liked it, Caity," he said. She could feel his chest rumbling when he talked. "But, it does leave me with a dilemma."

Caitlyn didn't want to hear this part, where he told her he liked her a lot but wasn't in love with her. The part where her heart got broken into a million pieces, and she had to pretend to be okay with it. She began to struggle, but he wouldn't let go.

She felt his warm breath on her neck as he continued talking. "If I told you right now that I love you too, would you believe me? Or would you think that I was just doing it because you said, or sang it first? Would it be better for me to wait, or would that upset you?"

Her voice caught in her throat and her heart started to pound in her chest. She finally managed to ask, "If you said it, would you mean it?"

"Yes."

Caitlyn thought carefully before answering. Would she be able to believe him? She knew that she desperately wanted to hear him say it, and she needed to be able to trust him. "I want to know how you feel, Shane," Caitlyn responded.

She felt him shift on the couch. He placed several fingers under her chin and tilted her face up to look him in the eyes. He smiled gently at her. "That's easy. I love you. And I'm in love with you."

Caitlyn's face lit up at his words. "I love you too."

Shane grinned at her. "Excellent. Cause it would have sucked if you hadn't said it back."

Caitlyn laughed and snuggled back into his chest. "I know what you mean," she said.


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock._

_AN: Welcome to a transition chapter written at midnight. I hope it makes sense. I know how I want this story to end, but I needed a few filler chapters before it happened. And this is one of them. And it shows a non-perfect, but un-jerky Shane, so hopefully this keeps him human._

_Dedication: I was going to post this without one, but Oo lovetoday oO_

_AND LittleRedOne both posted something recently. I seriously missed them and squealed a bit when I got their alerts. If you haven't read their stuff, I would recommend them highly. _

Caitlyn couldn't remember the last time she had felt this happy at six o'clock in the morning. Normally she wasn't a morning person, but today, she was wide awake and cheerful. Apparently being in love put her in a good mood.

She was in the middle of starting a pot of coffee when she heard her phone start to beep, indicating that she had a text. While she rummaged through her purse looking for her phone, Shane's cell phone started beeping as well. A few moments later, the house phone rang.

"What the hell?" Shane said stumbling out of the bedroom. "Why are all the phones going off?"

Caitlyn looked up from her purse and smirked. "Don't look at me." She finally located her phone just in time to hear Shane answer his land line.

"What?" he snapped.

Nate laughed on the other end. "Morning, Sunshine. I just called to see if you messed up last night."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Shane said sarcastically. "I didn't mess up. I did just fine."

Caitlyn gave him a questioning look, and laughed when he mouthed Nate's name. She held out her hand and said, "Here, give me the phone."

"Caitlyn wants to talk to you. I'm going back to bed," Shane growled.

He stopped when he heard Caitlyn ask, "Aren't you going to check your cell. I think you got a text."

Shane picked up his cell and stared at it in disbelief before saying, "My friends are morons." Without any further explanation, he stomped back to his bedroom and slammed the door.

Caitlyn picked up Shane's phone and giggled.

"What's so funny, Cait?" Nate asked.

"Jason just sent Shane a text asking him if he wanted to go to a lecture on birds tonight," she replied. "I think next time you two might want to wait a little before making these sort of friendly gestures. Maybe make sure he's had his coffee first."

"Why?" Nate asked. "It's way more fun my way."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Speaking of fun… did you call Mitchie last night?" Caitlyn asked. She was pretty sure he had based on the text she had just received from Mitchie, but she wanted confirmation.

"I'm not a total idiot. Of course I called her," Nate said in disgust.

"Just checking. You did a pretty good impression of an idiot at coffee yesterday, so I couldn't be sure," Caitlyn joked.

"Very funny," Nate said dryly.

"So I was wondering if you had a game plan. Is this an official date or a friends thing you're hoping will lead to a date?"

Nate sounded a little confused when he answered. "Does it matter?"

"Well, I just got a text from Mitchie asking if I thought that you were asking her on a date or inviting her out as a friend, so I'm looking for a little direction from you before I answer," Caitlyn said.

"Crap!" Nate exclaimed. "I was hoping I could just get by being vague about my intentions."

"Yeah, you and every guy on the planet," Caitlyn muttered into the phone. She brightened a little as she thought about Shane, who seemed to have become an exception to that rule.

"What?" Nate asked, not sure he heard her correctly.

"Never mind," Caitlyn said quickly. "I have an idea."

She grabbed her phone and typed back, "I don't know. What do you want it to be?"

Caitlyn marveled at her own brilliance. If she could find out what Mitchie wanted then she could tell Nate and get out of the middle of their relationship. She groaned when she saw Mitchie's answer, "I don't know!"

Her life could never be that simple. She had to think fast.

"Okay, Nate. She isn't sure if she wants it to be a date or not. So how about you play it on the friend side, but not too much. Don't let her pay, but don't be too forward either," Caitlyn said, warming to her subject. "Open the door for her, but don't show up with flowers or anything. And talk this time. Talking is good on a date."

She smiled again as she thought back to her first date with Shane. It took her a moment to realize that Nate hadn't said anything since she stopped talking.

"Hello? Are you still there?"

"Wow, Cait," Nate said in a stunned voice. "That was a lot to take in."

"Don't be silly, Nate. You can do this. You're a charming fellow. Just be yourself and it will be fine," she reassured him.

"Restaurant ideas?" he asked finally.

"Nothing too fancy; that would scream date. How about that Mexican place by the boardwalk she likes. It's simple, but it shows you thought about her."

"That's perfect. Thanks, Caity," Nate said earnestly.

"You're welcome. Good luck tonight!"

"Thanks." He paused and then asked, "Did he really do okay, or did you just let him think that."

Caitlyn laughed. "You really don't have much faith in him. He was perfect; so perfect in fact I almost wondered if he'd been tipped off."

Nate chuckled. "We actually considered it, but we didn't want to cheapen it for you by cheating."

"Thank you for that," she said. "That just put to rest any lingering doubts I may have had."

"I'm happy for you, Cait," Nate said.

"I'm happy too. Now if I can just get my annoying friends together so they'll leave me alone, all my problems will be solved," Caitlyn joked.

"Way to ruin the moment," Nate pouted.

"Goodbye, Nate."

"Bye, Cait."

Caitlyn hung up the phone and pondered how to reply to Mitchie's last text. She finally settled on advice that she thought wouldn't get her in trouble with either party. "Mitch, I would just not worry about it and enjoy the evening."

Satisfied with her response, she poured herself a cup of coffee. For the moment, everyone seemed moderately happy. She glanced down and saw Shane's phone on the counter with Jason's unanswered text. Picking up the phone, she sent him a message. "Shane's still asleep, but we'd love to go. Caitlyn."

He texted back immediately. "Sweet!"

So the bird thing might be long and boring, but it was worth it to make Jason smile. And she was pretty sure that she could entice Shane to come with her. She took her coffee into the family room and lounged on the couch trying to figure out what to wear to Shane's grandmother's party. She had only been sitting there for a few minutes when Shane came back out of the bedroom.

"Damn Nate and his stupid phone call," he grumbled.

"Couldn't get back to sleep?" Caitlyn asked sympathetically.

"No. And I don't have to be anywhere for another two hours. That's at least an hour longer I could have been sleeping," he whined. Caitlyn looked at him skeptically, thinking about how long it took him to do his hair. Then she glanced over at the clock. She still had an hour before she had to leave for the office.

She grinned at him. "How about we put that time to good use and take a shower."

Shane immediately perked up. "Have I told you today that I love you?" he asked.

Caitlyn laughed. "No, but I'm glad to hear it."

He wiggled his eyebrows at her, "So shower?"

"Lead the way, Rockstar! Oh, and I told Jason that we'd go to his bird thing," she added.

Shane groaned, "That was a total mood killer, Cait."

"Oh, come on. I'll make it up to you."

"Promise?"

"I promise," she reassured him.


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock._

_AN: This chapter is really three scenes back-to-back. Hopefully it will tie up a few loose ends without being too choppy or confusing. And thanks to those of you who have voted in the poll on my profile._

Caitlyn stood helplessly staring at her closet, panic beginning to build. When her cell phone rang, she picked it up without even checking to see who was calling.

"Hello," she said.

"Hey, Caity. It's Nate. Did Mitchie call you?"

She groaned. She loved Nate, but she didn't have time for this right now. "Sort of," she replied vaguely still concentrating on her clothes.

"How does someone sort of call you?" Nate asked sounding a little annoyed.

"Well, she called, but I turned my phone off for the bird thing and forgot to turn it back on. So she left a message," Caitlyn explained.

"What bird thing?" Nate asked. "Wait, you didn't actually go to the bird lecture with Jason, did you?"

"Shane and I both went," Caitlyn confirmed. "And it was pretty interesting. I'm thinking of going with Jase again next month, but I'm leaving Shane at home. I kept having to elbow him to keep him awake, which made it hard to concentrate."

Nate sounded a little stunned as he said, "You're really weird, Cait." Eventually recovering from the mental image of Shane and Caitlyn at Jason's ornithology group, he continued, "So Mitchie's message?"

"Right. She told me she had to meet her mom for breakfast, but she would call me after 10 because she needed to talk to me." Caitlyn glanced down at her watch. "So I'm expecting her to call in about twenty minutes. Want me to call you back after I talk to her?"

"Don't you want to hear how it went?" Nate asked sounding a little hurt.

Caitlyn sighed, "Look, Nate, I care deeply about how your evening with Mitchie went, but I'm sort of in the middle of my own crisis right now. But because I love you I will put off my plans to hyperventilate for ten more minutes while you tell me all about your evening."

"That was rude," Nate muttered before adding, "What's your crisis?"

Caitlyn chose to ignore his first comment and launched into her dilemma. "I'm leaving to meet Shane's entire family at his grandmother's 80th birthday party in a little over three hours. I'm terrified that they're going to hate me, and I have no idea what to wear. Normally I'd call Mitchie for back-up, but, you know, that's not really an option."

"Why not?" Nate asked bewilderedly. "Isn't she your best friend?"

"Technically, yes, but things are a little rocky right now. Besides, don't you think it'd be weird to ask the last girl Shane took home to meet his family for wardrobe advice?"

"I don't know; she'd probably have the best insight," Nate said.

Caitlyn sighed. She seriously needed to find some more girl friends because as much as Nate and Jason tried, they just didn't get a lot of things. "Just tell me about dinner."

Caitlyn sat down on the edge of her bed, facing away from her closet so she could give Nate her full attention.

"I think she had fun, but it's hard to tell with her. She's pretty polite, so she could have been faking it," Nate began.

"Nate, I'm sure she had a good time," Caitlyn reassured him.

"I guess. She was excited about the restaurant, and we sat talking for almost an hour after we finished eating."

"She's not that polite, Nate. She must have had fun."

"It was just a little weird when I dropped her off. I wanted to walk her to the door, but then there is always that awkward goodbye thing. And I was afraid I might be tempted to kiss her, so I just sort of sat there in the car and told her I'd wait to make sure she got in okay."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.

"What should I do now?"

"Nate, try not to worry about it. Let me talk to her, and then when we have all the information, we can make some sort of plan." Plans always relaxed Nate, so Caitlyn was hoping the prospect of an actual strategy would help calm him.

"Okay. That sounds good," Nate said. "And try not to worry too much, Cait. You'll look nice no matter what you pick, and they'll love you."

Caitlyn smiled. "See, that's why I keep you around, Nate."

After hanging up, she called out, "Shane, turn off the television and come help me."

It took awhile, but eventually Shane came into her bedroom. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know what to wear to the party," she whined.

Shane looked at the pile of clothes on her bed. Figuring those had already been rejected, he headed over to her closet. After a quick look, he grabbed a purple silk strapless mini-dress out of the closet. "How about this?"

Caitlyn's nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed, "You want your grandmother to think I'm a whore?"

"What?" Shane gasped. "No! Why would you even say that?"

"Shane, we're going to a family party in the middle of the afternoon. That's a dress that I barely felt comfortable in going clubbing. So either you're not taking me seriously when I'm asking for help, or you want your entire family to think I'm a trashy whore who's dating you for your money."

Shane gulped. He wasn't sure there was even a right response to that statement. "I'm sorry, Cait. I just thought that the color would look nice on you."

She looked at him skeptically before saying. "Fine. But I need you to be serious here."

Shane couldn't understand why she was so freaked out. "Cait, can you just calm down a minute and listen to me. I know they'll love you. And even if for some reason they don't, it doesn't matter cause I love you. Their opinion of you isn't going to change that."

She gave him a small half-smile. He was sort of an idiot sometimes, but he could be really sweet. "You're way better at picking lingerie," she finally said, causing him to look at little embarrassed. She had bribed him into going to Jason's bird lecture by promising to wear any lingerie of his choice, and she had been shocked when he picked out a tasteful, white, almost virginal teddy. Caitlyn had raised an eyebrow at the "honeymoon special" label, and Shane had blushed and shrugged before saying that he thought it was pretty.

"How about I narrow down some options, and you help me make the final pick?" Caitlyn said.

Shane was pretty sure that was a much safer option than him picking things on his own. "Okay. I'll sit over here quietly on the bed while you decide?" Shane was hoping that if he sat very still and didn't say anything, maybe she would forget he was there.

Caitlyn leaned across the bed and gave him a quick kiss. "Sounds good."

She turned back and continued to stare at her closet. Minutes ticked away, and Shane sat quietly watching his girlfriend pace around her room, muttering to herself.

"Need some help?"

Caitlyn's head jerked towards the door and her face broke into a giant grin when she saw Mitchie smirking at her.

"Nate called and told me you needed help, but were afraid to call," Mitchie stated. She looked thoughtful before adding mischievously, "Actually he said you were pathetic and fashion-challenged and needed me to keep you together, but they mean pretty much the same thing."

"Really? You'll help me figure out what to wear?" Caitlyn sounded hopeful, but a little uncertain.

Mitchie crossed the room and gave her a hug. "I think I can handle it."

"Oh, thank god!" Shane exclaimed heading out of the room as quickly as possible. He hesitated in the doorway for a moment. "I'm going to go get a coffee. Can I bring you back anything?"

"Mocha," Caitlyn said distractedly.

Mitchie frowned a moment before adding, "Grande, non-fat, no-whip, sugar-free vanilla latte with an extra shot, really hot."

Shane looked at her incredulously. "There's no way in hell I'm going to be able to remember that," he whined.

Caitlyn laughed. "I'll send you a text with our orders." She waved her hand at him dismissively. "Now go away so we can get to work."

Normally Shane would have taken offense at that, but he was so ridiculously happy to escape that he just turned and fled.

Mitchie plopped down on Caitlyn's bed and shook her head when her friend held up a flared red skirt. "So can we multi-task?" Mitchie asked. "Can you stress about your outfit and listen to me stress about my dinner with Nate at the same time?"

Caitlyn grinned. "Of course. I've been waiting for you to call me with details. Did it feel like a date or not?"

As Mitchie collapsed back on Caitlyn's pillows dramatically, Caitlyn noted that at least she and Nate had the melodrama thing in common. She sent Shane the text and then turned back towards her pile of clothes.

"I couldn't tell," Mitchie said sounding frustrated. "He took me to my favorite Mexican place." Caitlyn nodded, trying to look surprised. "And we had a great time. I'd forgotten how much fun he can be when he's not working."

"Well, that sounds positive," Caitlyn said as she held up a black sleeveless dress. Mitchie wrinkled her nose.

"I guess," Mitchie sighed. "But now I'm confused. Because I never thought of Nate as boyfriend material, but then I was really disappointed when he dropped me off and didn't kiss me."

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at this piece of information. Nate had apparently done much better than he thought last night.

"So, what does that mean?" Caitlyn asked hesitantly. She didn't want to push Mitchie into a relationship she wasn't ready for, but she also didn't want to spook her off and spoil things for Nate. Caitlyn felt like she was walking a tightrope without a net.

"I don't know," Mitchie replied. "Oh, that green one." Caitlyn held an apple green cotton dress up against her chest. "That's cute. Do you still have that cream vintage cardigan?"

Caitlyn's eyes opened wide. While she dug through her dresser in search of her 30's thrift-store sweater, Mitchie returned to the original topic. "I'm still trying to figure out if I'm interested in Nate, or if I'm just interested in being with someone. Cause I don't want to wreck our friendship if I'm just lonely or horny or something."

Caitlyn triumphantly located the sweater and turned towards her friend. "I think that's a good thing to figure out before you do anything else." She looked from the sweater to the dress – there was a green ribbon flower on the sweater that was a few shades darker than the dress. "And nice call on the sweater."

"Thanks," Mitchie said smugly before frowning again. "And I'm not even sure if he's interested."

Caitlyn mentally cursed; this conversation would have been much easier with less information. Now she had to figure out how to not betray Nate's trust and still get him a second "date".

"He seemed really excited about dinner after you left the coffee shop the other day, so I think that he's interested. But he's pretty shy around girls, so I don't think he's going to make a move unless you give him some sort of signal," Caitlyn answered. She glanced at the bottom of her closet. "Shoes?"

"How long do you think I can wait before I need to send him a signal," Mitchie asked. "How about these?" Mitchie held up a pair of tan closed toe heels with a retro feel. "We can do your hair in a stylized wave."

Caitlyn nodded and sat on the bed. Mitchie brought the shoes out of the closet and sat down next to her friend. Caitlyn thought for a moment before beginning, "If you call and thank him for dinner…"

"And for calling me to tell me you needed help," Mitchie added.

"Okay, call him with a big thank you. That should buy you a couple of days," Caitlyn said. She knew it would kill Nate if Mitchie waited that long, but she would just have to talk him though it. "Then if you decide you want to take the next step, you can invite him to do something."

Mitchie leaned over and put her head on Caitlyn's shoulder. They sat like that on the bed quietly for a minute before Mitchie spoke. "I've missed you, Caity."

"I've missed you too, Mitch," Caitlyn said, her voice catching in her throat.

The moment was broken when Shane poked his head around the corner. "Is it safe? I have coffee."

The girls laughed and got off the bed. He wordlessly handed them each their cup and then stood in the doorway rocking nervously on his heels and toes. He finally asked, "Everything good?"

Caitlyn smiled at him. "Everything's great!" She glanced down at her watch and noticed that they had to leave in two hours. "You'd better get home and start getting ready. You're not going to have enough time to straighten you hair after you shower if you don't hurry."

Shane looked offended when Mitchie doubled over in laughter. "Oh, my goodness, Caity. Does he still take forever to do his hair?"

Caitlyn grinned at her friend. "Seriously. It's absurd!"

"Whatever," Shane snapped. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to look good."

Both girls started laughing harder at this pronouncement. He could feel himself getting angry, but then he stopped and looked carefully at the scene in front of him. Mitchie and Caitlyn were acting like friends again. They were smiling and laughing. Somehow, they were in the same room with him, and they were both happy. If they needed to make fun of him for that to happen, he guessed he could deal with it.

"Calm down, ladies. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourselves," he said sarcastically. "I'm going to go; I'll be back to pick you up, Caity."

Caitlyn stepped towards Shane and then hesitated until she heard Mitchie say, "It's okay to kiss your boyfriend goodbye, Cait."

Shane shot Mitchie a look of gratitude as Caitlyn gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. As he headed down the hallway, he heard Mitchie giving Caitlyn a hard time.

"That's it? I've seen people kiss their brothers with more passion than that."

"Shut up Mitchie," Caitlyn moaned. "Just plug in the curlers."


	18. Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock._

_AN: It was time for another Caitlyn/Shane chapter. Nate and Mitchie will return next time._

Caitlyn snuggled under the covers, totally exhausted. She wasn't a naturally outgoing person, so spending several hours making small talk with strangers always left her feeling drained; the added pressure of meeting Shane's family and trying to make a good impression had completely worn her out. She was actually starting to drift off to sleep, when Shane enter his bedroom, talking on the phone.

"I'll tell her, Mom, I promise," he said grinning at Caitlyn curled up in his bed. "I love you too. I'll call you tomorrow."

Shane hung up and put the phone on his nightstand before crawling across the bed to place a kiss on Caitlyn's forehead. "In case it wasn't clear at the party, my mom wanted me to tell you how much everyone loved you. Seriously, I'm a little jealous. I think my grandmother likes you more than she does me."

Caitlyn laughed. It was true; she had been a big hit with Shane's family. His grandmother had loved Caitlyn's retro-inspired outfit, saying that her mother had a sweater like that when she was a little girl. Caitlyn had discussed 70's classic rock with his dad, listened attentively to his little cousins talk about their favorite video games, and swapped book suggestions with his aunt. They were all lovely people, who had obviously tried to make her feel at home.

There was just one thing that bothered her – they all kept thanking her for changing Shane. The first time it happened, her initial instinct had been to look around to see if maybe Mitchie was standing nearby. Because Mitchie was the girl who had changed Shane, not her. Caitlyn had never tried or wanted to change Shane.

"I really liked them too," Caitlyn said.

Shane picked up on something in her voice and looked at her carefully. "But…" he said.

She looked at him questioningly.

"Come on, Caitlyn. I know you. Something bothered you about the evening, and I want to know what it was," he said seriously.

"I love your family, Shane. It's nothing about them, really." She hesitated. Some people were super-sensitive about anything that could be considered insulting their family. Occasionally she even felt it herself when people bad-mouthed her father, who she knew totally deserved it. But she also knew that Shane wouldn't give in until she told him. She sighed. "It just bugged me that everyone kept thanking me for changing you."

Caitlyn saw Shane's forehead wrinkle up in confusion. "Why would that bother you?"

She looked at him in disbelief. "Because it isn't true. I didn't do anything. You made a conscious decision to make a change in your life. It bothers me that people don't give you credit for that."

"Do you really believe that?" Shane asked curiously.

"Of course," she said vehemently. "Any change that people see in you is because you wanted to change. Seriously, what did I do? I offered you sex. I wasn't the first girl to do that."

"Nor the last," Shane muttered.

"What?" Caitlyn said with narrowed eyes.

Shane held up his hands defensively. "I didn't take them up on it."

"Them?"

Shane sounded tired when he answered. "Come on, Caitlyn. Don't act surprised; that's just part of the job. Nate, Jason and I get propositioned every day. Honestly, it doesn't even register anymore. It's just this annoying thing hanging around in the background that you try to tune out."

"Sort of like elevator music," Caitlyn said sarcastically.

"Exactly. It's the muzak of our lives."

Caitlyn seemed to deflate a little at this. What made her different from all those stupid fan girls throwing themselves at him? Cause really that's what she did – she tried to use him. Maybe not for his fame or money, but as a distraction from her life. "See, that makes me even more pathetic."

"Caitlyn, you're nothing like those girls. They don't know me. They don't even see me," Shane said gently.

"I tried to use you for meaningless sex as a distraction. Not so sure your family should be thanking me for that," she said dryly.

"Stop it," Shane said firmly. "Stop fixating on the first two minutes of our relationship and think about the past few months." He reached out and grabbed her hand. "I know you never tried to change me, which is something I love about you. And I understand what you mean, but I also know what they're trying to say. How I was behaving – it hurt them to watch me like that. They are thanking you for giving me a reason to want to change."

"Oh," Caitlyn said quietly. She had always wondered what had happened that night, but she had never asked him about it. "Why," she started and hesitated. "I mean, we've known each other a long time. That night, what changed?"

Shane settled on the bed next to her and pulled her over so she was cradled in his arms. "I don't know exactly. I cared about you – you were my friend. And I've always been attracted to you." He looked down at her and smirked, "You are gorgeous, you know." Caitlyn blushed. "But for some reason -maybe it was your relationship with Mitchie – I had always kept those separated. There was my friend Caitlyn and the sexy Caitlyn. That night they sort of merged into one, incredible woman I wanted to be with. And that couldn't be a one-night stand."

Her eyes glistened with tears. Maybe she should stop questioning why or how and just enjoy the fact that she was the beneficiary of the changes in Shane. "I love you," she whispered.

He smiled. He loved hearing her say that. "I love you too."

She lay quietly in his arms. "Your grandma totally like me better," she finally said sleepily.

Shane chuckled. "Sure, go ahead and rub it in."

He realized she had already fallen asleep, so he leaned over and kissed her head before drifting off next to her.


	19. Chapter 19

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock._

_AN: Yes, I know it took me awhile to update. Things have been crazy, and I had no inspiration for this chapter. So I just ended up forcing something. Sorry if it is bad. This is the first story typed on my baby laptop (this thing is tiny and fits in my purse), so there is a high chance of typos. I tried to find them._

Caitlyn was trying her best not to kill her friends. Mitchie was indecisive and Nate was mopey, and they both kept calling her. She was considering changing her voicemail to say that she had moved to South American. And it had only been 36 hours.

Her phone rang again, and she prayed it was Mitchie because at least then Caitlyn had some hope of moving this situation towards some kind of resolution.

"Crap," Caitlyn said when she saw it was Nate. "Hi Nate," she said with forced cheerfulness. "What can I do for you?"

"Any news yet?" he asked. She had just spoken to him twenty minutes ago and told him she would call when she heard something.

"I love you, Nate, but if you call and ask me that one more time, they will be pulling your body out of the Pacific Ocean," Caitlyn said exasperatedly. "Do you really think I'm trying to torture you by withholding information?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. Caitlyn considered apologizing, but she wasn't sorry.

"So, I'm just going to hang up now," Nate said slowly.

"That's probably a good idea, Nate. Unless you want to talk about something un-Mitchie related," Caitlyn responded.

"No, that's pretty much it."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to you later, Nate."

She had intended to just let Mitchie work this out on her own, but for all of their sakes, Caitlyn decided that she needed to do something to force the issue, otherwise she couldn't be held responsible for her actions. She picked up her phone and sent Mitchie a text asking her if she wanted to come over and talk.

It only took Mitchie fifteen minutes to arrive at Caitlyn's apartment. She walked in and sprawled on the couch, sighing dramatically.

"I still don't know what to do, Cait."

Caitlyn refrained from rolling her eyes. From the way Mitchie was carrying on, you'd think that the fate of the world hung in the balance. "Why don't you talk through it with me? What is holding you back?"

"Lots of things," Mitchie responded. "He's a good friend, and if it doesn't work out, then I'll lose his friendship. And if it is bad enough, maybe even Jason too."

Caitlyn looked at her friend skeptically. "If your friendship with Jason can survive your break-up with Shane, I'm sure you two will be fine."

"And I'm still not sure if I'm really interested in Nate or just like the idea of dating someone. And he deserves better than that," Mitchie continued. She paused for a moment before adding, "And I'm scared of getting hurt again."

Caitlyn's frustration with Mitchie faded with that final admission. She sat down on the couch, "I think we've found the real issue, Mitch."

Mitchie gave her a small smile. "I know. The thought of caring again, of being in a real relationship with someone I care about terrifies me."

"That's understandable. But this is Nate we're talking about. He would never purposely hurt you. You know him – he's an amazing guy."

Mitchie nodded. Caitlyn could see she was beginning to waver a little, and she had two choices – she could let Mitchie work this out on her own or go in for the kill. She hesitated, but in her heart, she truly believed that Nate would make Mitchie happy.

"Mitch, Nate is an attractive, talented, driven, creative person." Caitlyn began.

"Just like Shane," Mitchie interrupted.

Caitlyn nodded. "That's true. They do have a lot of similarities, but Nate is nothing like Shane was when you two dated. Shane was self-absorbed and thoughtless. He didn't think about how what he did impacted you."

Mitchie raised an eyebrow at Caitlyn's description of her boyfriend. Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "I was there; I know what he was like. He's changed, but that doesn't mean I can't remember what an ass he was. Nate isn't like that, Mitch. He is sweet and sensitive. He's not super-confident when it comes to girls, so you might have to help him out. But it will be worth it. He's worth it."

Mitchie studied Caitlyn carefully. "You don't have a crush on Nate, do you?"

Caitlyn sputtered. "What? No! Ew – he's like my little brother. You know the kind you love but drive you crazy?"

Mitchie laughed. "So you're trying to unload him on me?"

Caitlyn glared at her friend. "The point is that he doesn't drive you crazy. You must like him or this wouldn't be turning into such a drama."

Mitchie shifted on the couch so she was leaning against Caitlyn. "I know, I do want to go out with him." Caitlyn refrained from jumping off the couch and doing a happy dance. "Caity?" Mitchie asked.

"What Mitch."

"If I go out with him, do you promise you won't ever date him? I don't think I can do this again."

Caitlyn was surprised to find that the thought of being with anyone but Shane made her feel sick. She put her arm around Mitchie. "I promise that no matter what happens, I will never date Nate. We'll have to come up with some new sort of drama in our friendship next time; the dating your friend's ex has already been done."

Mitchie grinned mischievously. "Maybe next time we can fight over Jason."

Caitlyn laughed. "And we can have a cat fight in public."

"With lots of hair pulling…"

"And possibly some mud," Caitlyn gasped between laughs. "The guys would love that!"

The two girls giggled on the couch. Finally Mitchie spoke. "So should I go ahead and call him?"

"Oh, please do! Put the poor boy out of his misery," Caitlyn begged.

Mitchie laughed and picked up her phone.

"Do you want me to give you some privacy?" Caitlyn asked.

Mitchie looked at her friend like she was crazy. "No! I need you here for moral support. I've never called a guy and asked him out before."

Caitlyn held up her hands defensively. "Sorry. I will sit right here and be quietly supportive."

Mitchie nodded nervously and finally dialed. "Hi, Nate. It's Mitchie."

Caitlyn couldn't hear what Nate was saying, but whatever it was made Mitchie smile. She gave her friend a thumbs up. "I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go to dinner with me tonight," Mitchie said. "Like a date."

Caitlyn watched as Mitchie's face lit up. "Great," her friend said a little breathlessly. "Sure, seven o'clock is good. Do you want me to make reservations somewhere?"

The room was silent while Mitchie listened to Nate's response. "Are you sure? I mean, I did ask you, so really, you shouldn't have to do anything." Mitchie blushed and grinned before saying, "Okay. I'll see you at seven."

"What did he say?" Caitlyn asked the moment Mitchie hung up the phone.

Mitchie blushed even more as she spoke, "He said that if I didn't mind, he wanted to plan something special for me. Because I'm special."

Caitlyn smiled. "You are Mitch. And I'm glad that you found someone who appreciates that."

"Me too," Mitchie said softly.

Before Caitlyn could say anything else, her cell phone rang. She looked down to see that it was Nate. "Hey, Mitch, I'm going to take this in the bedroom. I'll be right back."

She walked down the hallway and answered the phone,

"Caity, she called and asked me out!" Nate practically shouted into the phone.

Caitlyn laughed at his enthusiasm. "I know, Romeo. I was in the room with her when she called. You must have done something right because she was practically glowing during the entire conversation."

"Really?" Nate asked. "I did okay? I was so nervous."

Caitlyn shook her head. This date had the potential to be disastrous if he didn't get it together. "You did great. But you're going to have to get over these nerves if you want a second date. Remember, it's your friend Mitchie. Just relax and be yourself."

"I know," Nate replied. "You're right. I just really want this to work."

"I know you do, Nate," Caitlyn said. "You'd better go make some plans."

"Right. I have a lot to do," Nate started to sound worried again.

"Chill, Nate," Caitlyn laughed. "Oh, and her favorite flowers are pink roses."

"Thanks, Cait."

"You're welcome. Call me tomorrow and let me know how it goes."

There was a pause before Nate said, "Is that your way of telling me you're not helping me plan the date?"

"Pretty much. Goodbye Nate!"

Caitlyn hung up and shook her head. She was really happy for her friends, but they really did make her crazy sometimes.


	20. Chapter 20

_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or the Today Show._

_AN: Yesterday I realized that my plan for this chapter that I outlined last month was very similar to a chapter that PeaceLoveNickJonas posted recently, so I sent her a pm to get her feedback. She told me to go ahead and write it. So thank you, Laura, for not making me replan this. Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed and read this story. Special thanks to the following reviewers who made me want to keep writing this: applepips16, LittleRedOne, __MissNata13__, __Oo lovetoday oO__, __gypsyeyes91__, __LiveLaughLoveJB__, __Wake-up Soon__, __PaNcAk3s__, PeaceLoveNickJonas , __PurpleAngel87__. I think that I am going to write Mitchie and Nate's date as a connected one shot. But otherwise, this is the end. Thanks again for your support and encouragement!_

Caitlyn was used to the phone ringing in the middle of the night when Shane was out of town; he would call to say he missed her or tell her he loved her because he knew she could go right back to sleep. She didn't even check what time it was before picking it up this time.

"Hey," she mumbled into the phone.

"Hi, Caity," Shane said. "If I give you a few minutes to wake up, do you think you could talk to me about something?"

All of a sudden Caitlyn's heart began to race and she was wide awake. "Shane, you're not calling me at," she glanced over at the clock, "three o'clock in the morning to break up with me, are you?"

"What! No, Caity," Shane exclaimed.

Caitlyn began to imagine all the horrible reasons he could be calling. "Are Nate and Jason okay?" Caitlyn said with panic evident in her voice.

"Caity, calm down. They're fine."

"Someone in the band?"

"Caitlyn, please stop and listen. I just needed to talk to you about something. There is nothing wrong, I promise," Shane said firmly.

Caitlyn took a deep breath and tried to relax.

Shane continued speaking, "Are you okay now?"

"Yes. Go ahead," Caitlyn replied.

"So, you know how we're going to be on the Today show?" Shane began.

"Yes, Shane. I have my Tivo set to record it, so I can watch you later today." Caitlyn said, confused why he was waking her up for this.

"What?" Shane said. "You're not going to watch it live?"

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Shane, I love you, but I'm not sitting through hours of perky fake news waiting for you to be on. That's why God created digital recording devices."

"I feel loved," Shane said sarcastically.

"This is why you woke me up?" Caitlyn asked incredulously.

"No."

"Do you think that we can get to the point soon?" Caitlyn asked.

"Oh, sure. So we're going to be on the Today show, and you know how interviewers always ask us about our personal lives?" Shane said nervously.

"Yeah, and you are all always happily single but looking for the right girl. Cause that sells CDs," Caitlyn joked.

"Yeah… about that," Shane responded slowly. "What would you think about me mentioning that I'm dating someone? If they ask."

Caitlyn sat up in her bed, stunned into silence. The guys had been on a break for the past few months, so the media scrutiny had been minimal. Somehow she and Shane had managed to stay under the radar. Caitlyn had known going in that the guys never talked about their private lives. In the past, even with irrefutable photographic evidence, they had remained silent on who they were dating. Caitlyn had just assumed that they would keep their relationship from everyone but close friends and family until they got caught. Then they'd figure something out.

"Caitlyn? Are you there?" Shane asked.

"I'm here. You just surprised me," Caitlyn admitted. "What brought this on?"

"I don't know," Shane said. "It just seems wrong, hiding you. Like I'm ashamed of us or something. Which I'm not. It's one thing to keep quiet about someone you're casually dating. But I love you, and I'm tired of sneaking around and monitoring what I'm saying all the time."

Caitlyn felt her eyes welling up with tears. She had never even considered asking him to tell people about their relationship, but having him offer like this was almost like hearing him tell her he loved her for the first time.

"I love you," Caitlyn said simply.

"I'm glad cause I love you too," Shane said. "I talked it over with the guys and the label, and they're all on board. I just wanted to make sure it was okay with you. Cause it will change things. Not us, but the rest of your life will be more complicated."

"I knew that going in, Shane. It's part of the package – gorgeous, talented, sweet boyfriend and annoying fans and paparazzi."

"I'm serious, Cait. Can you handle it?"

Caitlyn thought about what he was asking. As sweet as the offer was, did she really want to deal with all the drama? It would be the end of her privacy; the end of any sense of normalcy. Her every move would be scrutinized, and people would find plenty about her to criticize. But she already knew that she loved him, and she didn't want to imagine her life without him. So it was either a nice quiet life alone, or a circus with Shane by her side. The choice was easy.

Caitlyn stopped joking. "Yes, Shane. I can do it. You are worth all the issues you come with."

Shane choked up a little when she said this. He had hoped that's how she would feel, but he had been afraid that when faced with the reality, maybe it would be too much for her. That she would say she wasn't ready - that the problems involved with dating him would overwhelm the benefits.

"Thank you," he said, his voice thick with emotion. Then he added, "I'll text you right before I go on, to give you a chance to change your mind."

Shane could picture her glaring at him when he heard her voice, "Don't you dare, Shane Gray. You can go ahead and change your mind, but I won't. I'm all in. Do you understand?"

At that moment, Shane sent up a silent thanks that Caitlyn had sent him that crazy text. And that he had been smart enough to respond. "I guess that makes two of us," he told her.


End file.
